Last year, we shared a special New Year’s carol from South Korean psych-legends He 5. This year, we’re digging a bit deeper and offering you a rather bizarre single by Zambian guitarist, singer and songwriter Paul Ngozi. This song, the b-side to his “Happy Christmas” single, is a departure from the hard-edged garage-psych of the Ngozi Family’s early recordings – but it’s the perfect companion for your New Year’s revelry. Sorry about the crackle – imagine it’s the bubbles popping in your champagne flute!

Download: Paul Ngozi: “Happy New Year”.

And, if you missed it last year:

Download: “He 5: “Auld Lang Syne”.”

The L.A. Times had nothing but good things to say about our Rikki Ililonga and Musi-O-Tunya anthology Dark Sunrise. An excerpt from Randall Roberts’ piece:

“… an important reissue, and offers yet another glimpse into the sound of Africa in the 1960s and 70s. In the past half-decade, countless African crate-digger classics have been reissued, each another piece of the puzzle from a continent less archivally minded than most. But “Dark Sunrise” is a peak, and a vivid glimpse into a particular moment in time.”

Read More: L.A. Times “Pop and Hiss” on Dark Sunrise.

Dr. Manasseh Phiri – the Zambian DJ who coined the term “Zamrock” around the release of Musi-O-Tunya’s Wings of Africa and WITCH’s Introduction – discusses and plays tracks from WITCH’s Lazy Bones on a recent episode of PRI’s “The World.” Listen as one of the movement’s first supporters reminisces and breaks down songs from this, WITCH’s masterpiece.

Download: Dr. Manasseh Phiri on WITCH’s Lazy Bones.
Buy Lazy Bones here.
Read more about our Zambian Psych reissues here.

Following our reissue of three essential albums (WITCH’s Introduction and Lazy Bones and Amanaz’s Africa) from the genre, we finally present our Dark Sunrise, an anthology of Zambian “Zamrock” godfather Rikki Ililonga and his groundbreaking band Musi-O-Tunya.

The anthology surveys Musi-O-Tunya’s rarely heard 7″ singles – not just the first psychedelic rock music, but the first pop music independently released in Zambia – their debut album Wings of Africa and follows Ililonga’s solo career in its first stages, with his Zambia and Sunshine Love albums.

Buy: Rikki Ililonga and Musi-O-Tunya Dark Sunrise at Itunes
Download: Rikki Ililonga and Musi-O-Tunya “Dark Sunrise.”

Buy it here.

CD:

Disc One:

Tsegulani 6:24
Mpondolo * 7:57
Walk and Fight * 7:53
The Sun * 5:11
Dark Sunrise * 8:26
One Reply * 5:41
The Wings of Africa * 7:05
Jekete Yamankowa Part 1+ 2.43
Jekete Yamankowa Part 2+ 2:43
Chalo Chawama + 3:45
Ng’ombe Shala + 3:47
Mpulula + 3:37
Smoke + 4:21

Disc Two:

Sansa Kuwa # 4:35
Sheebeen Queen # 4:53
Stop Dreaming Mr. D # 3:33
The Hole # 4:42
Hot Fingers # 4:09
Se Keel Me Queek # 4:56
The Nature Of Man # 3:54
Musamuseka # 3:01
Zambia # 3:18
The Queen Blues # 4:46
Love Is The Way ^ 4:15
Lovely Woman ^ 4:03
Munzi Wa Kangwana ^ 2:36
Working On The Wrong Thing ^ 3:45
Ulemu ^ 1:50
Sunshine Love ^ 3:15
Take It Light ^ 4:15
Angel Black ^ 3:22

Musi-O-Tunya Wings of Africa album (tracks with “*”): Recorded at Sapra Studio, Nairobi, Kenya on January 24th, 1975. Engineered by Detlef Degener. Originally released on MOT Records LMOT 1017.
Musi-O-Tunya singles: “Tsegulani” assumed to be recorded at Sapra Studio, Nairobi, Kenya in 1975. Originally released on MOT Records MOT 101. Other singles (trackes with “+”) assumed to be recorded in Kenya in 1973. Originally released on Pathe East Africa.
Zambia album (tracks with “#”): Recorded at Sapra Studios, Nairobi, Kenya between June 9th and 25th 1975. Engineered by Detlef Degener. Originally released on Zambia Music Parlour Records ZMPL 10.
Sunshine Love album (tracks wit “^”): Recorded at Sapra and Phonogram Studios, Nairobi, Kenya. 1976. Engineered by Detlef Degner. Originally released on Sepiso Records RILP2.

2 CD and 3LP box set. NA5067. 2011. Note: 3LP box set does not contain the 7″ tracks; each individual album is reproduced in its original format.

Download high res cover art here.
Download a high res photo of Rikki Ililonga here.
Download a second high res photo of Rikki Ililonga here.