Amayenge - Amayenge (1989)

This is the second of a trio of Zambian recordings published by Mondeca Records that I have been able to post, and like the other Zambian records offered here, this is a gem. Quite different from either of the previous bands, Amayenge is high-energy dance music fueled by furious percussion and singing. There are the great guitars typical of Copperbelt pop, but band leader Kris Chali's voice dominates, as well as his percussion solos.

Recorded in Zimbabwe, where the band was popular, this album even has a chimurenga song in praise of the revolutionary Zimbabwe of the day. There also are several songs praising Zambia's first and persistent President Kenneth Kaunda, who at the time was charting an independent, one-party path, and who was to lose power a short two years after this album was recorded. There is ample information about the band and songs on the album sleeve.

Enjoy!

Masasu Band - Masasu (1989)

Another foray into the relatively rare Zambian pop music library, with this nice slice of guitar-driven kalindula dance music from the Copperbelt. We already sampled this addictive style here.

Masasu Band leader John Mulemena sings well and achieves a splendidly twangy guitar sound that propels the mantyantya, the particular dance flavor played by this band. Released in England, this album quickly went out of print. The band had a CD published a decade after this record, but little trace of it can be found. I suggest listening to this second Zambian offering on this site, and while it plays, search the ether sphere for somewhere to buy the band's CD .

Enjoy!

P.S. This may be my last post for a short while. I have a family responsibility that takes me away from home and technology.

The Makishi Band — Ba Samora (1990)

Popular music from Zambia has been scarcely available outside of the country. Here is an engaging album from a tight band that leaves not a trace on the internet, except that it is one of the vanished bands from the late 1980s.

The style of music is the Zambian adaptation of all-powerful rumba lingala that swept throughout central and eastern Africa in the '70s and '80s. It was called kalindula, and several of the songs even have a revved up "sebene" to get the dance going. Yet rumba was not the only influence. Traditional music transformed the foreign music to make something new, and I can hear threads from Zimbabwe too, and perhaps Tanzania. Can you hear them?

Half of the six songs are sung in the Bemba language, including one about AIDS, and the remaining three in different languages. The more I listen to them, the more I appreciate this music. If anyone can enlighten us about this band in the comments, please do so.

Enjoy!