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W.I.T.C.H.1970s psychedelic rock pioneers W.I.T.C.H. were the forerunners of a subgenre of African music known as Zamrock. Taking inspiration from artists like Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer, they forged a sound all their own through personal innovations like funky basslines and screaming organ melodies, with lyrics that often recalled the light-hearted fun of ‘50s surf rock.
Zamrock was a new type of psychedelic rock that married American blues guitar styles with British heavy metal pacing and German prog complexity. According to Zambian music lecturer Lunga Sianagowa, Zambia did not have many recording studios throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s. The difficult process and production of Zamrock, which had to be recorded and produced in Kenya, helped to create its distinctive lo-fi sound.
W.I.T.C.H. led a musical revolution with Zamrock that was as fierce as it was short-lived. A mixture of political censorship and the AIDS epidemic, which took the lives of some of W.I.T.C.H.’s original members, forced Zamrock into the underground. Most of the movement's biggest bands had disbanded by the 1990s.
A newfound appreciation of psychedelic rock and lo-fi recording in the late 2010s brought W.I.T.C.H. to a global audience that had yet to see its importance during its heyday.
W.I.T.C.H. has reformed, with original member Emanyeo “Jagari” Chanda joined by a new lineup to revive the spirit of Zamrock. As they say in the closing track of their 2023 album Zango, the band has been reborn “like the story of the Phoenix, the bird from the ashes.”
About Sled Island:
Sled Island is an annual five-day independent music and arts festival in Calgary, Alberta that brings together a community of music, comedy, film and art with over 30,000 attendees in multiple venues across the city. For more information, visit SledIsland.com.
Upon entering a festival venue, the passholder agrees to being photographed, filmed or recorded in that venue, and agrees to the publication, reproduction, distribution and broadcast of all photographs, video or other recordings of the passholder's voice or likeness without further notice or compensation in any publicity, advertisement or other publication carried-out by, or on behalf of, Sled Island and in perpetuity in any manner and media whatsoever, including print, broadcast or internet.
Everyone has the right to feel safe and included at Sled Island. All festival attendees must abide by Sled Island's safer spaces and inclusion policy and agree to the code of conduct, which can be found at SledIsland.com/SaferSpaces.
Sled Island acknowledges Calgary as the traditional territory of the Blackfoot and the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Ĩyãħé Nakoda First Nations, including the Chiniki, Bearspaw and Goodstoney First Nations. Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
#1 Royal Canadian Legion, 116 7th Ave. SE, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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