Phil Morrison, bassist of our favorite, impossible-to-describe jazz group Stark Reality, told us today that Vinnie Johnson, the band’s drummer, had passed away. We don’t have any further details at this time. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Vinnie’s family. He was one helluva drummer, and a cheerful, super guy. He will be missed.
Photo above by Jim Bourne, taken in 1970 on the back lot at Boston’s WGBH, for use on the Stark Reality’s AJP-issued LP.
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Thanks to everyone that ordered their WITCH box set directly from us! WE ARE NOW SOLD OUT.
Our WITCH We Intend To Cause Havoc! box set pre-sales have done better than expected. We shipped every order that paid as of Thursday, May 24th but we’ve still been receiving requests from folks who want to make sure they don’t miss out on the very-limited 6 LP box set format. We don’t blame ’em – if we didn’t have copies of all of the WITCH’s original Zamrock albums and 45s at our disposal, we’d be jonesing for legit, straight from the master tapes reproductions of WITCH’s 54 rare and unreleased garage-, psych-, prog-, funk- and afro-rock songs. To be honest, we’d probably want the box just for the booklet.
Well, we’re still in the first phase of building out our new webstore, so we’ve set up something for those that want to be guaranteed a copy (in either format). We have 40 LP box sets and 60 CD box sets, and we’re making them available, on a first come first serve basis. As an extra bonus, you’ll get them at 10% off our suggested retail price. UPDATE – WE’VE SOLD OUT. If you want in, here’s what to do:
1.email us with subject line WITCH PRE-SALE at: witch@nowagainrecords.com
2.tell us your preferred format: 6 LP ($73 plus shipping) or 4 CD ($30 plus shipping) and give us your address.
3.tell us your preferred shipping method: in the USA we offer both USPS media and priority mail; internationally we offer USPS first class (when possible), priority or express mail. Bear in mind: the 6 LP box set is heavy, so shipping it internationally isn’t going to be cheap (expect to pay $30-$40 in shipping depending where in the world you live).
4.we’ll email you back to tell you your total, and give you our Paypal address. And, just because we don’t want you to wait – when we confirm your shipment, we’ll also send a link where you can download all of the albums so you can dig in immediately! Note: we only accept Paypal payments at this time.
The complete works of Zambia’s legendary garage-, psych-, prog-, funk-,afro-rock ensemble. 1972-1977: WITCH’s five albums and rare 7” tracks presented as a 4 CD and 6LP box set. Restored and remastered from the original tapes. Out NOW.
WITCH is the best known Zamrock ensemble – they succeeded in releasing five albums in Zamrock’s 70s heyday. Although there have been two previous WITCH reissues by the Shadoks company, this 4 CD/6LP box set marks the first time that their entire catalog – including rare, 7″-only tracks, all restored and remastered from the original tapes – has been available outside of Zambia.
WITCH’s first two, self-produced albums – Introduction and In The Past, released in unison with the birth of the commercial Zambian recording industry – are exuberant experiments in garage rock, and are as influenced by the Rolling Stones as they are James Brown. Their third album, Lazy Bones!!, is the band’s masterpiece – a dark, brooding psychedelic opus that makes equal use of wah-wah and fuzz guitars, that relies as heavily on the stomping feel of hard rock as it does the syncopation of funk. The band’s last two albums – Lukombo Vibes and Including Janet, recorded after the band toured with Osibisa – make use of traditional Zambian rhythms and folk melodies. They are the most “afro-rock” of WITCH’s oeuvre.
These 54 rare and unreleased songs are presented as a 10″ x 6″ hardbound 4 CD box set with a 24 page booklet and as 6 LPs – each with the original cover art – housed in a slipcase box with a 16 page booklet. The 6 LP box set is limited to 1000 pieces. More photos of each format are below.
On the eve of the worldwide release of our WITCH We Intend To Cause Havoc! anthology, the good folks at Red Bull Music Academy Radio have posted the second of their Zamrock Specials. This, A History Of Zamrock, is an important listen: WITCH bandleader Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda discusses the Zamrock ensembles that the WITCH considered peers and the subtleties of the Zamrock scene. Includes rare music by Paul Ngozi and Ngozi Family, The Peace, Amanaz, 5 Revolutions, Keith Mlevhu and Musi-O-Tunya.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, they’ve posted a transcript of Egon’s Red Bull Music Academy interview with Jagari from Madrid, 2011. Links below.
Link: Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda interviewed by Egon at Red Bull Music Academy, Madrid, 2011.
