THE WITCH Vinyl & CDs

Review: Zamrock, anyone? Often stylised as W.I.T.C.H, WITCH were one of the leading musical lights of post-colonial Zambia, a band that rose to prominence during the early-1970s, a particularly fertile period in the East African nation during which hopes for the future were incredibly bright. Independence leading to the blossoming of homespun ideas, culture, art and creativity. The story takes a tragic turn as the decade reached its final years, the economy collapsing and policymakers turning increasingly authoritarian. Like many in the 'scene', WITCH would fade, almost into obscurity, although the psychedelic rock-hued legacy they left survived, and then experienced a resurgence from 2012, when they reformed amid renewed interest. Kuomboka represents the group at the height of their fame, an album that still sounds packed with optimism, despite insidious changes in the air when it landed in 1976.

Review: Witch singles are well known by collectors of worldly sounds, but they have never sounded as good as they do now on this reissue seres by Sharp-Flat. Each one has been remastered from the original analogue tapes for the first time ever. These two are taken from the Zambian band's seminal 'Movin' On' LP from 1980. At that time they had survived the Zamrock years and built up a fine catalogue of psych and prog sounds but then took inspiration from the newly emerging electronic sounds of the 80s and reaches new highest. These two brilliantly funk and soul-filled disco stompers prove that and cemented the band as African disco powerhouses.