Welcome to Zamrock ! : A Zambian Rock & Roll Mixtape.

For the most part, Rock and Roll is not a genre that you would first associate with the country of Zambia. But Zambia, a country located in Southern Africa, was once the home for a deeply creative community which centered itself around indigenous roots fused with international rock and rock styles. This fusion created the genre called Zamrock, a golden era within Zambian music (and world music) history lasting between the late 1960s and early 1980s.

Zamrock was, in many ways, a catalyst for the Zambian music industry. Before the emergence of the Zamrock scene, there was little music being recorded & produced in Zambia. During the early stages of the Zamrock era, many musicians had to travel over a thousand miles as far north as Nairobi (Kenya’s capital) to buy or get their records pressed. Zamrock really took off in Zambia when in 1974 Dr Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia’s first president, declared that 95% of the music played on the radio in Zambia should be Zambian. With this declaration, Zamrock musicians had an open road to the radio waves across the country. This also led to the proliferation in musical output from rock groups within Zambia and the creation of a rich music culture with a unique sound and experience.

ABOUT THE MIXTAPE

Welcome to Zamrock ! is a mixtape that features selections from the genre’s most notable names such as WITCH ( We Intend To Cause Havoc ) , Musi O Tunya, Crossbones ( with one Zambia’s first notable female singers, Violet Kafula ) and much more. The mixtape delivers a variety of messages through the music, bringing insight and color to the prevailing mores and attitudes of that period within Zambian history. The musical selections and soundbites are combined to reinforce messages of love, freedom, introspection, responsibility and ambition. Welcome to Zamrock ! is a reflection and recollection of a promising time in Zambia through the creative geniuses who worked together to spread the music and stories of Zamrock to the world.