The Zambian band WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc) will perform Sept. 3 at Farm House Collective in Riverside, bringing their pioneering Zamrock sound to the venue's intimate 500-capacity stage.
WITCH emerged in the early 1970s as pioneers of Zamrock, a genre that blended African rhythms with 1960s psychedelia. While Fela Kuti's Afrobeat gained notoriety among Western artists at the time, WITCH's darker, more stripped-down sound was less accessible but has gained a cult following over the last decade as people search for rare grooves.
The band dominated Zambia's post-independence music scene during the 1970s, earning comparisons to the Beatles in their home country. Their sound featured fuzzed-out guitars, traditional African rhythms and the vocals of frontman Emanuel Jagari Chanda, now 71 and the sole surviving original member.
WITCH's original run ended when Zambia's economy collapsed in the late 1970s and the AIDS epidemic devastated the local music scene in the 1980s. All original members except Chanda died from AIDS-related complications by 2001. The band was rediscovered in 2012 when Now-Again Records reissued their catalog, introducing their music to international audiences hungry for authentic psychedelic rock.
The current lineup includes musicians from the Netherlands, Germany, Bulgaria and Zambia. They released their first studio album in 39 years, Zango, in 2023 and another album, Sogolo, in June.
Farm House Collective opened in March after developers transformed the 1953 Farm House Motel into a shopping and entertainment complex. The venue features 15 local restaurants and retail shops in converted motel rooms, plus the outdoor Farmyard performance space. Shows typically range from $22 to $37 plus fees.
WITCH represents what critics call a rare groove indeed, a band whose music appeals to the adventurous. Atop pulsing African rhythms lay riffs and structures drawing from Black Sabbath to Captain Beefheart, creating an immersive musical experience that has found new audiences decades after their original heyday.
More information: The Sept. 3 show begins at 8 p.m. at Farm House Collective. Tickets are $22 to $37 plus fees and available at farmhousecollective.com.
