In the latest episode of African Voices Changemakers, CNN’s Larry Madowo meets two acts creating unique African genres, inspired by the movement that sparked a music renaissance around the world.
73-year-old Emmanuel Jagari Chanda is the front man of ‘WITCH,’ a band that unearthed a new genre using Brit-rock and Kalindula music. After 40 years away from the stage, Chanda tells Madowo about how his new band are bringing back the psychedelic sounds of Zamrock, “ZamRock from Zambia, it’s creating this curiosity and then when they’re satisfied with what they see and hear, they’ll come back. They are seeing this influence and then people getting out of that influence to create their own stuff. It’s that which is somehow attracting them.”
Chanda started his musical career in the early 1970s, blending grassroots African music with a western cultural influence. After a long hiatus, ‘WITCH’, short for ‘we intend to cause havoc’, is back with a new iteration of the band, a world tour, and a new album, “The music came back because of tourism. There were re-issues of the music. Eventually they got me, I was alive and the one who was supposed to carry the torch and rekindle the fuel of Zamrock. I’m grateful too for this new lease of life.”
Chanda says Zambian superstar Sampa the Great is one of those global artists who is aiming to carry the Zamrock torch. He says he never forgot about music when he was gemstone mining, and that his comeback happened by the grace of God, “My philosophy, my understanding of life, is everyone has their God and it depends which God works for them. My wife is a pastor and she’s one of the three pastors in our church. Fortunately, she understood that this is my life to make music, perform it, and make people happy.”
Last summer, CNN joined Chanda and his band at ‘Le Poisson Rouge’ in New York City for the final show of their 2024 tour. He reflects about the energy of the crowd, “I don’t plan what to do on stage. I let the music determine what I should do on stage. At the same time, I engage the audience so that they feel part of what they’re involved in […]. I’m grateful to the fans. We interact so well. We are well received. Wherever we play, I think they go back satisfied.”
Otim Alpha is a maestro of the Acholi music of northern Uganda, blending traditional drums, strings, and dance to create the novel sound of Acholitronix. He tells CNN about his journey looking at his culture and perfecting a new sound, “Acholi it’s very rich in culture, so I’m proud of it. In our culture, we normally keep history with the music because I remember they used to tell us they don’t write it down, they normally compose song. So, people keep on singing, playing with Adongo, playing other things. So, the message keeps accumulating like that.”
In 2004, experimenting with sound tinkering with loops and other sounds, he ended up pioneering the genre he called Acholitronix, “I’ve been listening to South African songs and then also Congolese songs. So, I was kind of a little bit jealous because we are too reaching culture in music, so I say why can’t I try to change something or to do it on our own? But it was not easy because if I record, my music is light, even if it plays in the club, it’s not strong.”
Before finding his passion for music, boxing was Alpha’s way of life. Growing up in rural northern Uganda, with multiple wars and financial burdens, Alpha finally gravitated towards the arts, “When I was young, I was interested in Taekwondo. My dream, I wanted to be a world champion in boxing. So, it did not happen because of a lot of challenge. And then the war also spoiled. It was not easy to travel to Kampala.”
CNN joined Alpha for his performance at the Gulu Market. The hard syncopated beats, dance, and lyrics of Aguma music touch on topics just like those stories passed down from his tribe, “I considered myself as a Ugandan cultural ambassador because I always continue with the culture, whatever I go, I don’t leave it. I always walk with it, and I sleep with it in my mind.”
Alpha ends by telling CNN about his philanthropic past times, “I wanted many children to learn how to play our instruments […]. I want people to follow my footstep, to keep it and also have learned Acholitronix. I don’t want that legacy to die. Acholitronix will be there.”
