WITCH was the first band in Zambia to release a commercial album — 1973’s Introduction. Blending the rock and roll sounds of UK rock bands like The Rolling Stones, Cream, and The Beatles together with more traditional African rhythms, WITCH pioneered a new genre dubbed Zamrock, and during their brief yet prolific existence, WITCH (an acronym for We Intend To Cause Havoc) released 7 albums and were the most revered band in the country.

Zango is the band’s 8th studio album and the first release on Desert Daze Sound — a new Partisan imprint A&Red by the founder of the Desert Daze festival, Phil Pirrone. The album was recorded at the same studio where the original band’s sensational 1975 album Lazy Bones had been made some 46 years prior: DB Studios. On Zango, Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda is joined by Patrick Mwondela on keys, Nico Mauskoviç on drums and percussion, Stefan Lilov on guitar, JJ Whitefield on guitar, and Jacco Gardner on bass, who is also credited with producing the album alongside WITCH. The album features collaborations with Keith Kabwe (Amanaz), Theresa Ng’ambi, Hanna Tembo, and Sampa The Great.

“‘Zango’ means ‘meeting place’,” Jagari explains. “Every village [in Zambia] will have this central place, where villagers meet to prepare for work, where youngsters go to learn, where the young ones learn from the elder folks, and where the visitors come and converge. It’s an institution, a place where people are welcomed, and where people come for research. It speaks to our band and its various backgrounds and countries. We are at our own meeting point with our music.