AMANAZ Africa 2xLP/1975 Zambia/Witch/BLO/VU/TOP AFRICAN MELANCHOLIC FUZZ PSYCH!

Sold Date: October 5, 2024
Start Date: May 9, 2024
Final Price: $38.98 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 8854
Buyer Feedback: 0


AMANAZ 'Africa' Double LP (US, Now-Again Records, Catalogue #NA 5123) Brand new/unplayed copy of limited year 2022 Now-Again Records label special Double LP edition of RARE and LEGENDARY 1975 "Zamrock" album (featuring both the original "dry" and the second "reverb" mix editions) entitled Africa by Zambian band Amanaz. Of all the Continental sub-Saharan African Rock records from the 1970s that have been excavated and brought to the wider attention of the worldwide underground rock record buying audience, Amanaz's Africa stands head and shoulders above all others as the towering achievement of the 1970s African Rock scene. Originally released in 1975 in Zambia on the Zambia Music Parlour label.

(NOTE: ALL RECORDS ARE PACKED AND SHIPPED IN PROFESSIONAL, SUPERIOR QUALITY RECTANGULAR SHAPED, CORNER PROTECTING CORRUGATED CARDBOARD RECORD MAILERS WITH FILLER PADS. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!)

(NOTE: BRAND NEW/FACTORY SEALED ITEM!)

(NOTE: SPECIAL DOUBLE LP VERSION FEATURING BOTH THE ORIGINAL "DRY MIX" AND "REVERB MIX" EDITIONS.)

(NOTE: LIMITED VINYL EDITION!)

"Issued in 1975, this is the articulation of Zambia's Zamrock ethos. While other albums -- Rikki Ililonga's Zambia, Witch's Lazy Bones!! -- are competitors, it's hard to best this album as it covers each major quadrant of the Zamrock whole: it came from the mines; its musicians were anti-colonial freedom fighters, it envelops Zambian folk music traditions, and it rocks -- hard. Amanaz were serious, and they made a serious stab at an album. They titled their album Africa, according to original band member Keith Kabwe, 'because of how it was shared and how its inhabitants were butchered and enslaved, its resources stolen... all the atrocities slave drivers committed. ' Thus, their 'Kale,' a blues sung in Nyanja, that traced the continent's arc from slavery to Zambia's independence closes the album. Kabwe and rhythm guitarist John Kanyepa have a winsome softness to their vocals, which sit politely aside the feral growl of drummer Watson Baldwin Lungu, bassist Jerry Mausala and bandleader/lead guitarist Isaac Mpofu. Africa's vibe ranges from anxious ('Amanaz') to escapist ('Easy Street') to straight-up pissed-off. On the 'History of Man,' his voice whiskey-burned, his distorted guitar buzzing like swarming hornets, Mpofu indicts his species. There's a darkness to Africa not found on any other Zamrock records, and a melancholy drifts throughout, specifically on Mpofu's more restrained 'Khala My Friend,' which stands as an effective, bleak situation for the Zambian everyman, the average citizen of a struggling, new nation, who might have had relatives in conflict-torn countries on the horizon, who might have been struggling to find his next meal, who might have seen a bleaker future than his president promised. Then there's the clear Velvet Underground-influence on the nostalgic 'Sunday Morning,' which, as Kabwe recalls, was the first song written for the album, back in 1968, when Velvet Undergound and Nico was a new release -- and the underground funk of 'Making the Scene.' The album also tackles traditional Zambian music and early-'60s rock -- punctuated, of course by Kanyepa's wah-wah and Mpofu's fuzz guitars. But every time Amanaz get too deep, too violent, they come back with an accessible song and woo their listener back to the groove. 'Green Apple' is a civil song, featuring Kanyepa's sighing guitar. It is a perfectly arranged album, from the dichotomy of Mpofu's and Kanyepa's lead and rhythm guitars, to the vocal harmonies, to the rhythm section's sense of space and time, which allows Africa's funk to build. Inexplicably, Africa was given two separate mixes and two separate presses: one version is dry, with the vocals and drums mixed loud, the other slathered in reverb, with the vocals and drums disappearing into the mix, and with the guitar solos mixed much louder. We've presented them both here as they each have their appeal: it's up to the listener to pick the one he or she prefers. This is a highpoint of the Zamrock scene and we hope that this can be seen as its definitive reissue."    

Tracks on this Double LP are as follows:

Dry Mix

A1 Amanaz A2 I Am Very Far A3 Sunday Morning A4 Khala My Friend A5 History Of Man A6 Nsunka Lwendo B1 Africa B2 Green Apple B3 Making The Scene B4 Easy Street B5 Big Enough B6 Kale

Reverb Mix

C1 Africa C2 I Am Very Far C3 Sunday Morning C4 Khala My Friend C5 History Of Man C6 Nsunka Lwendo D1 Africa D2 Green Apple D3 Making The Scene D4 Easy Street D5 Big Enough D6 Kale

Shipping rates to the following locations at this present time (note: all shipping rates are subject to change.)

Shipping in US, PUERTO RICO (MEDIA MAIL) is $6.98.

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Shipping to BRAZIL (AIRMAIL) is $23.98.

Shipping totals will be consolidated for multiple orders/winning bids.

Record shipped in professional, superior rectangular shaped, corner-protecting corrugated cardboard record mailer with filler pads. Satisfaction guaranteed!

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