Vangaza!

Zambia lies geographically between Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo and is one of the musically less prolific countries on the African continent. It does, however, have a home-grown popular music style known as kalindula – a hybrid of Zambian traditional melodies and rhythms – and the SWP Records label have been doing a sterling job in releasing good Zambian recordings.

Brian Chilala, former member of internationally acclaimed group Amayenge, recorded the tracks on this album with his backing group Ngoma Zasu in 2006 and 2008. They play a lively musical style with flavourings of Congolese modern rumba, Zimbabwean jit (or jit-jive), and a smidgen of South African gospel and reggae. The liner notes explain that Chilala is known as ‘The Rebel’ in Zambia for his often satirical lyrics that confront political and social issues. Punchy electric guitars and Chilala's jaunty vocals, backed by three female singers, make for a very pleasant and uplifting recording. Hopefully this disc will help the kalindula style to survive among all the hip-hop-related releases that generally dominate Zambian music.