Footsteps

And yet another delightful recording from 1970s Zambia. This time the band is The Blackfoot, The album, The Footsteps. I don't have much info on this one, but if you have been following the Hearse's Zambian Psych posts you have probably stopped reading and hit the download link already.

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Danger!

Another great Zambian psych gem for you. The Ngozi family first came to my attention through their amazing 1974 collaboration with guitarist Chrissy Zebby Tembo. The Ngozi family was led by Paul Ngozi. In 1977 Paul brought his fine family into the studio and the result was the album, 45,000 Volts. Interestingly enough, Ngozi means danger, and you, my friend are in danger of having your mind blown by this records fuzzed out greatness. Rumor has it that a scant 600 LPs were pressed, making this collector nerd boner bait right here. It would seem that the good folks at Normal Records of Germany have been reissuing some of these lost Zambian treasures (Amanaz, Witch,) maybe this one is on deck. Until then...

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5 Revolutions

Before the completists get all uppity, I know that this download is NOT the entire album. However, this is just too fun to keep to myself, maybe you can track down a complete version of it. 5 Revolutions were yet another delicious pop-psych group from Zambia. Recently I learned that many of these great Zambian recordings we have been loving here were made possible through the tireless work of Mr. Edward Khuzwayo, a Zambian promoter and music entrepeneur. Sadly Khuzwayo passed away recently. His very informative obituary can be read here. R.I.P Mr. Khuzwayo, here's the 5 Revolutions.

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Congo Vision '76

Here's a great record that was released not by a label, but rather the General Administration of Congolese Cultural Affairs with the intent of promoting national arts. The nation's best and brightest young talents were enlisted to write, arrange, perform and record these fantastic songs singing the praise of the Congo and it's people. Nationalist propaganda never sounded so good or funky. It's like they were running a Quinn Martin country. I don't think a volume two was ever made.

Vision

Oum

سخيف جدا رائع كنت تريد التخلص من ملابسك وكأنها الطرف تحتدم نكح الحصان. هل سيسعد في الأصوات الجميلة وايقاعات البرية. وقالت سيلين ديون هي مصر وكنت لا تزال OUM لا أحد من أينما كنت من نكاح.

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Thanks and praise to Awesome Tapes From Africa for this one.

Black Power

The next Cosmic Hearse Zamrock offering, The Peace's one and only album Black Power is the rarest of African psych treasures next to Blackfoot's The Footsteps album. Like all things Zambian I've posted here, the recording is stark, honest, and totally mesmerizing. If anyone out there can satisfy my endless jones for obscure African psych I would greatly appreciate it.

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Right On!

Question

Another endearing "Zamrock" treasure for you, dear readers. Did you go all crazy for Chrissy Zebby Tembo, The Witch and Amanaz? Well Question Mark were just as infectious and beautiful as any of them and a little more upbeat and poppy. You'd have to be a real dick to not love this.

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Awesome Tapes From Africa

I strongly urge all of you readers to check out the links I have provided to some of the greatest blogs out there. One in particular, Awesome Tapes From Africa is just so amazingly cool I suggest you stop dicking around here and head over there. To whet your appetite I present the tape Obaa Sima by the mysterious High Life entity from Ghana known as Ata Kak. This is so weird and fun, like a gay dance club on Mars, it should be enough to set you on your course of discovering some awesome tapes from Africa.

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Africa!

In 1973 the border between Zambia and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was closed off due to a bloody conflict between the two neighboring countries. This created a myriad of trade problems for Zambia. To make matters worse, soon after the price of copper, Zambia's chief export, dropped drastically, sending the already poor Zambia even further down the shitter. These were particularly hard times for a people who who knew only hardship. Could this explain why every Zambian album I've heard from this time period is so mind-boggling, sincere and magically heart-breaking? I fell in love with Chrissy Zebby Tembo, went nutters over Witch and now we have Amanaz, and their 1975 album Africa. Amanaz were by far the most African sounding of the bunch, at times choosing to sing in their native tongue, hell, they even called their album Africa, ferchrissakes! All three bands have a very similar lo-fi, fuzzed out sound, but Amanaz are on the darker end of the scene, perhaps even more so than Witch. Again, a spartan production adds to the depth of the album. So if the Cosmic Hearse's previous forrays into the cryptic world of Zambian psych left you wanting more then this is for you.

Africa!

"Lazy Bones!!"

If you, like me, went all bat-shit looney for that Chrissy Zebby Tembo album I posted a while back, then you will absolutely love Witch, who like Chrissy Zebby Tembo, hailed from Zambia. Witch released just one album, Lazy Bones, in 1975. It is a work of sheer genius. Witch played the same sort of wah-wah psych as Mr. Zebby Tembo but with a bit more darkness. Check out the opening track, "Black Tears." It starts out rather melancholy and builds into a chugging, almost Sabbath-inspired shuffle before finishing with a doomy end. Lazy Bones!! sounds as if it was recorded live to 2-track with the vocals and some acoustic guitar added later. The spartan production only makes the album more heartfelt and endearing. The drum fills and vocals at times overload the mics. You can almost hear the suffocating heat of whatever slap dash Zambian studio they were in, playing their hearts out. Witch had great songs, and a pair of brilliant guitar players in Chris Mbewe and John Muma. Mbewe also is responsible for the casual vocals that further sweeten the whole affair. I really can't do this justice with mere words, it's sad, joyous, reflective, hopeful, playful, mournful, enchanting, winsome, gloomy, it's all these things and more. Just get it already!!

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Oh Yeh Yeh, It's Chrissy Zebby Tembo

It's Sunday, and Sundays should be about fun, so here I present to you one of the sweetest little records to ever come from the AIDS ravaged, open grave known as Zambia. There is a youthful innocence, a third-world naivety that permeates "My Ancestors,"the 1974 album by Zambian guitarist, Chrissy Zebby Tembo. Fuzzed-out wah wah psych had obviously made it's way to Africa by 1974 and Chrissy Zebby Tembo was at the forefront of the scene. If you happen to own the great "Love, Peace & Poetry: African Psychedelic Music" compilation, you may remember Chrissy Zebby Tembo's instrumental "Oh Yeh Yeh", which is also featured on this album. The sun shines all over the 9 songs here, and it's hard not to smile when Chrissy's kooky, relaxed vocals come in. The album has a warmth and closeness that make it absolutely infatuating. I fell in love with "My Ancestors" upon my first listen, and I imagine, you (being a person of distinction and taste) will too.

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