Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Zamrock

Welcome to the musical rabbit hole known as "Zamrock."

Zamrock emerged in Zambia in the 1970s, according to Wikipedia. What is it? Well, it's a lot, a "a fusion of traditional African music and psychedelic rock, garage rock, hard rock, blues and funk, taking influence from popular bands like Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, the Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, and Cream."

That's a mouthful. 

A friend of mine told me about a group called Amanaz and their album "Africa," which was released in 1975. It's the only album they ever made. 

It's great. 

The depth and breadth of the album is astonishing. There are bits of Hendrix and Santana and Dylan, all combined into this amazing mix of sound. 

That's not giving consideration to anything but the music. Funky beats, fuzzy guitar, terrific hooks--it's a real showcase. 

This led me down the rabbit hole, and I've listened to quite a bit of other artists in the other few days. Unfortunately, none of them are nearly as good. This one album is like lightning. 

I think the album is on all the major streaming services, so if you still enjoy late 60s-early 70s rock, give it a listen. 


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