WITCH’s Sogolo ignites the next chapter of Zamrock with futuristic funk, garage grit, and fearless energy from Zambia’s enduring legends, still causing havoc over 50 years on.
Long before crate-diggers and indie heads around the globe caught wind of Zamrock, WITCH were already busy reshaping the soundscape of 1970s Zambia. Their name - We Intend To Cause Havoc - wasn’t just a cheeky acronym; it was a declaration. And now, over fifty years later, they're still at it.
Sogolo, the second album of WITCH’s 21st-century resurrection, finds frontman Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda and keyboardist Patrick Mwondela driving the next chapter with the same restless energy that once crowned them the “Zambian Beatles.” Tracked mid-tour in Berlin, Sogolo is a tightly wound fusion of garage grit, Afrobeat rhythm, analog synths, and streetwise funk. It's Zamrock through a future-forward lens, and it's unmistakably WITCH.
“This album is the future of a team with hope, peace, love,” says Jagari. “We’re wearing smiles, we march and dance to criss-cross rhythms. Let’s go friends, let’s go guys - Sogolo in unity.”
The journey here was anything but easy. In their first era, WITCH dropped seven albums and founded a whole genre in the process. But the AIDS epidemic brought that golden age to a crushing halt, with Jagari the sole surviving original member. A wave of reissues in 2012 reignited global interest, leading to a stunning comeback: Zango in 2021, a glowing New York Times profile, sold-out tours, and an award-winning documentary that turned the band's wild story into global lore. If Zango was a triumphant return, Sogolo is the sound of ignition.
“Sitting together at Zango was a moment that sparked everything,” Mwondela reflects. “This album is about pushing boundaries - about artistic evolution. Every note, every lyric, it’s us stepping into new frontiers.”
With Mwondela’s synth wizardry, honed during the band’s disco-era transformation in the '80s, and Jagari’s unmistakable voice leading the charge, Sogolo doesn’t cling to the past. It strides forward, pulling the spirit of Zamrock with it.
WITCH aren’t just a reissue band, and Sogolo isn’t a nostalgia trip. It’s a rallying cry from a group that’s still evolving, still experimenting, and still, against all odds, intending to cause havoc.