The story of Zambian band Witch (an acronym for “We Intend To Cause Havoc”) is up there with the greatest comeback stories in rock n’ roll. In the 1970’s, the country of Zambia experienced the rise of Zamrock, a style of music that combined influences of that era’s rock n’ roll with the traditional polyrhythmic sounds of African music. The most popular Zamrock band was Witch, fronted by Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda. Formed in 1971, Witch released five albums between 1972 and 1977 and was known for their fiery live performances. Political and economic turmoil in the late 70’s, along with the AIDS epidemic, took its toll on the nation, and by the 80’s, Zamrock had all but disappeared. Chanda left the band, which carried on until 19984 with a more disco-leaning sound, under the leadership of keyboardist Patrick Mwondela.
Luckily, some original Witch recordings survived, and in 2011, Now-Again Records released some material. This was the first step down the path to Witch’s rediscovery, which eventually led to, in 2017, Witch’s first European tour, and two years later, the release of We Intend To Cause Havoc, a Gio Arlotta-directed documentary about Zamrock and Chanda’s life. Now, Witch is touring, finally introducing Zamrock to the world more than 50 years after the original musical movement took place. Along with bringing Zamrock’s past to life, Witch has been releasing new music, including 2023’s Zango, and the new album SOLOGO, released in June.
On Tuesday, September 9th, Witch played to a sold-out crowd at Portland, Oregon’s Aladdin Theater. Chanda was there to lead the band, with Mwondela on keys. The band opened with a couple of old tunes, “Thou Shalt Not Cry,” and “Living In The Past” before giving the audience a taste of the new stuff with SOGOLO’s opening track, the driving, high-energy psych-rocker “Kamasale.” The band presented a good mix of old and new, ending their set with “Lazy Bones,” a song originally recorded in 1975.
Chanda is an engaging frontman, dancing around the stage, playing air guitar, and bringing audience members up to play cowbell with the band. He kept himself fueled with bites of fruit from the container he brought onto the stage, popping a grape in his mouth or taking a bite of an apple. The glow he emanated let the audience know that he’s happy to be up on stage performing, doing what he loves, delivering Witch’s unique brand of Zambian rock n’ roll to eager ears.
Witch has a series of U.S. dates through September, and they’ll travel to Europe and Australia in November.
Witch, Aladdin Theater, Portland, Oregon, 2025.9.9
Thou Shalt Not Cry, Living in the Past, Kamusale, Nazingwa, Waile, Janet, Chijundo, Toloka, By The Time You Realize, Queenless King, Lazy Bones
Encore: Evil Woman, Like a Chicken/It’s Alright
