Africa (2xLP)

Issued in 1975, this is the articulation of Zambia’s Zamrock ethos. While other albums - Rikki Ililonga’s Zambia, WITCH’s Lazy Bones!! - are competitors, it’s hard to best this album as it covers each major quadrant of the Zamrock whole: it came from the mines; its musicians were anti-colonial freedom fighters, it envelops Zambian folk music traditions, and it rocks - hard.

Amanaz were serious, and they made a serious stab at an album. They titled their album Africa, according to original band member Keith Kabwe, “because of how it was shared and how its inhabitants were butchered and enslaved, its resources stolen… all the atrocities slave drivers committed. “ Thus, their “Kale,” a blues sung in Nyanja, that traced the continent’s arc from slavery to Zambia’s independence closes the album. 

Tracklist:

A1 Amanaz
A2 I Am Very Far
A3 Sunday Morning
A4 Khala My Friend
A5 History Of Man
A6 Nsunka Lwendo
B1 Africa
B2 Green Apple
B3 Making The Scene
B4 Easy Street
B5 Big Enough
B6 Kale

C1 Amanaz
C2 I Am Very Far
C3 Sunday Morning
C4 Khala My Friend
C5 History Of Man
C6 Nsunka Lwendo
D1 Africa
D2 Green Apple
D3 Making The Scene
D4 Easy Street
D5 Big Enough
D6 Kale