Now-Again and Urban Outfitters present: Zamrock Live! in Los Angeles; WITCH’s Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda is coming from Zambia to Los Angeles to perform his band’s world-psych-rock classics in America for the first time!
We here at Now-Again have championed the 70s rock scene that originated in Zambia – Zamrock – for years now, releasing anthologies of the giants of the scene: WITCH, Rikki Ililonga, Musi-O-Tunya, Paul Ngozi and Chrissy Zebby Tembo. As we ramp up our undertakings to document the lost gems from this isolated yet genius movement in 2013 – we’ve already mentioned the Paul Ngozi and the Ngozi Family and Musi-O-Tunya Give Love To Your Children albums – we are proud to partner up with Urban Outfitters to bring WITCH’s lead singer and bandleader Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda – the only member of the ensemble still living – to Los Angeles to perform the band’s world-psych-rock music. While Zamrock Live! has been making the festival circuit in Europe, this is the first time it will be performed in America: at Bazaaaaar, May 3rd, Hollywood, at Space 15 Twenty.
Space is limited so RSVP quick and show up early. They’ll hit the stage at 8.
You’re probably a regular visitor to this site, so you probably already have our Dark Sunrise and We Intend To Cause Havoc! vinyl box sets. But, if you don’t, we have some bad news – we sold out. And we’re not making any more. That means, if you can’t find one at you local record store, or on your favorite online repository, you’re going to be stuck trawling eBay so you can get all of your Musi-O-Tunya, Rikki Ililonga, and WITCH fuzz-funk with detailed booklets packaged in handsome boxes and slipcases.
But fret not – we’ve made the most popular of the single LPs available in just that – single LP formats. No booklets, no download cards – just the straight archival issues of these Zamrock gems. These too are rather limited in supply. So if you want this Zambian music (re)packaged in its original format, you should get it now – after these sell out, it’s CD and digital only.
Following the release of Maker Vs. Now-Again 2, Now-Again presents its first library offering from the producer Cook Classics. Worldwide release date: May 7. Download a free MP3 now!
Manhattan-born and Los Angeles-based, Cook Classics presents a series of songs that combine live instrumentation, modern and vintage synths, programmed beats and live drums. Rich and layered, many of these tracks have a hip-hop backbone – built from samples within the Now-Again catalog – upon which Cook adds pop-music elements. It’s no wonder that Cook’s music has been synched in ads by Pepsi and has been heard in major movies, television and awards shows. And it’s due to Cook’s digging in the Now-Again crates that the likes of Outasight find themselves with backing tracks that feature folks like Mr. Chop and Anubis.
This album is only available digitally on Now-Again Deluxe, and it’s up now. A limited edition is CD is packaged in a “mini-LP” thick cardboard “tip-on” sleeve and is available in limited quantities starting May 7th. Download his flip of a song from our very own Natural Yogurt Band, below.
Download: “Home Is Where The Heart Is”
Subscribe Now: https://drip.fm/nowagain
Exclusive vinyl-only EP by the world-psych-funk ensemble; original artwork by Kevin Lyons, screenprinted by Anti Designs. Download a free MP3 now!
For all intents and purposes, Karl Hector might as well be another nom-de-plume of Jay Whitefield (producer and guitarist for the Poets of Rhythm and the Whitefield Brothers) who, along with Thomas Myland and Zdenko Curlija, founded Karl Hector and The Malcouns in the early 2000s. Alongside Bo Baral, other members of the Poets of Rhythm and crack Munich-based session musicians, Whitefield, Myland and Curlija crafted nearly twenty tracks for their debut, Sahara Swing, an album that swung with influences from across the African diaspora.
The trio are release a series of vinyl-only EPs – Tamanrasset was the first; Ngunga Yeti Fofa is the second – that will culminate in their second album. Ngunga Yeti Fofa’s five songs demonstrate The Malcouns’ deft handling of musics from both Eastern and Western Africa alongside Western psychedelia, jazz and funk; the title track- a swinging horn-lead highlife jam that would sound perfect next to the Ghanaian classics by the likes of K.Frimpong and Ebo Taylor- is a great representation. If you don’t believe us, download it for free, below.
We’ve yet to set a street date for this EP, but our Now-Again Deluxe subscribers are be able to download this release now.
Download: “Ngunga Yeti Fofa”
Subscribe Now: https://drip.fm/nowagain
Linked below: Egon’s newest Funk Archaeology post at Red Bull Music Academy’s website, this time focusing on new considerations in modal jazz, which fans of this label’s Spiritual Jazz anthology will certainly find intriguing.
The exclusive download this time around: a second selection from Zambia’s Broadway Quintet, a most unique band from Lusaka who issued one of the only jazz albums in the country’s glorious 70s epoch.
The New Series: Reconsidering Modal Jazz – Egon’s Funk Archaeology at Red Bull Music Academy.
The Old Series: Egon’s Funk Archaeology at NPR.
Download: Broadway Quintet “Nifo Fine.”
