Witch: Sogolo Vinyl LP

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Why you'll love it

The title means future, and the album arrived to widespread critical acclaim. The singles "Queenless King," "Nadi" and "Kamusale" blend Zamrock with garage rock, funk and afrobeat.

About the album

Witch were once known as the Zambian Beatles, pioneers of the 1970s Zamrock scene, and their story picked up a second act when reissues in the 2010s found them a whole new audience. Singer Emanuel Chanda, known as Jagari, and keyboardist Patrick Mwondela reformed the band in 2017 with a younger crew, including Jacco Gardner, who plays bass and produced and mixed this one.

They recorded it in Berlin during a 10-day break in their 2024 tour for Zango, their first album in nearly 30 years. "Kamusale" opens with a thunderous riff and talking drum and draws on a Bemba children's game song, "Nadi" is a garage-punk rush with Jagari's playfully AutoTuned vocals, "Queenless King" is spacey funk, and Theresa Ng'ambi takes the lead on the torch song "Set Free."

Jagari describes it as the legacy continuing, and on this evidence it's in very good hands. Ten days off a tour and they made an album; most of us need ten days to unpack.

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