SF15 // WITCH - Movin' On

Sourced from the analog master tapes for the first time, Sharp-Flat presents the WITCH disco albums as you've never heard them before in sleeves that replicate the original album artwork.

Over the course of the 1970s, WITCH delivered an impressive run of garage, rock and prog releases. By 1980, the band was ready for a new chapter. Shuffling their lineup and relocating to Zimbabwe, they undertook their mythical transformation into an African R&B, soul and funk powerhouse. With access to a state of the art recording studio in Harare, WITCH produced two exquisite albums from 1980 to 1984.

With crisp beats, funky bass, swirling synths and tight horns, 1980's Movin' On was a sharp departure from the group's Zamrock roots and made no bones about the fact that the WITCH was ready to embrace the sound and spirit of a new decade. Trading lead vocals with founding member Chris Mbewe are newcomers Christine Jackson and Stanford Tembo, making for a well rounded set that combines dance floor burners with mid-tempo boogie grooves. A carefully crafted, great sounding album from a seasoned ensemble, Movin' On is an African pop classic.

Vocals - CHRISTINE JACKSON

Vocals - STANFORD TEMBO

Guitar & Vocal - CHRIS MBEWE

Guitar - EMMANUEL MAKULU

Fender Bass - GEDEON MULENGA

Drums - PETER LUNGO

Piano, Strings & Synthesiser - PATRICK MWONDELA

Vocal Harmonies - SHADDICK BWALYA

Horns by Real Sound Horns

Brass Arrangements by Shaddick Bwalya

Produced by Shaddick Bwalya

Recorded at Shed Studios in Harare, Zimbabwe

Engineered by Bothwell Nyamhondera & Martin Norris

Remixed by Shaddick Bwalya, Bothwell Nyamhondera & Martin Norris

Special thanks to Eddie Manda (Master Jam)

Dedicated to David Daka

Audio Mastering by Noah Mintz

Artwork Restoration by Ash Pederick

Produced for Reissue by Calum MacNaughton

Reissue Cat. No. SF15

℗ 1980 WITCH © 2024 Sharp-Flat Records

DIGITAL ALBUM

SF16 // WITCH - Kuomboka

Sourced from the analog master tapes for the first time, Sharp-Flat presents the WITCH disco albums as you've never heard them before in sleeves that replicate the original album artwork.

Over the course of the 1970s, WITCH delivered an impressive run of garage, rock and prog releases. By 1980, the band was ready to embrace the exciting dance sounds of a new era. Shuffling their lineup and relocating to Zimbabwe, they undertook their mythical transformation into an African R&B, soul and funk powerhouse. With access to a state of the art recording studio in Harare, WITCH produced two exquisite recordings during their disco years.

A full-throttle boogie outing, Kuomboka was issued in 1984 and features rising star Patrick Chisembele stepping in on lead vocals. Despite the album's modern vision for African pop, its title refers to a traditional migration ceremony practiced by the Lozi people of the Zambezi floodplains. The album documents a seasoned ensemble with an ambitious vision and is considered the group's sonic masterpiece.

Vocals - PATRICK CHISEMBELE

Guitar & Backing Vocals - CHRIS MBEWE

Guitar - EMMANUEL MAKULU

Fender Bass - GEDEON MULENGA


Drums - PETER LUNGO

Synthesisers & Electric Piano - PATRICK MWONDELA

Backing Vocals & Percussion - SHADDICK BWALYA

GUEST MUSICIANS:

Brass by Real Sound Horns

Vocals - Abi Rusike & Benny Miller

Backing Vocals - Rusike Brothers

Produced by Shaddick Bwalya & Richard Nganga

Recorded at Shed Studios in Harare, Zimbabwe

Engineered by Steve Roskilly

Audio Mastering by Noah Mintz

Artwork Restoration by Ash Pederick

Produced for Reissue by Calum MacNaughton

 

Reissue Cat. No. SF16

℗ 1984 WITCH © 2024 Sharp-Flat Records

DIGITAL ALBUM

WIT4-5 // WITCH - The Disco Singles

By the end of the 1970s, WITCH was a Zambian music institution. Active since 1972, they had survived the Zamrock years and left an impressive garage, psych and prog discography in their wake. But at the outset of the 1980s, the band was ready to embrace the modern sounds of a new era. Undertaking personnel changes and relocating to Zimbabwe, they were primed by the independence celebrations of their neighbouring country to undertake their mythical transformation into an African disco powerhouse.

With access to a state of the art recording studio in Harare, WITCH produced two exquisite albums in the early 1980s. Appearing in 1980, Movin' On was preceded by the single "My Desire," which featured new member Christine Jackson on lead vocals. With an upfront funky bass-line, falsetto backing vocals, swirling synths and tight horns, it was a searing hot disco offering that made no bones about the fact that the WITCH was ready to get down. Composer/vocalist Stanford Tembo's mid-tempo burner "You Are My Sunshine" was the perfect fit for the flip.

Documenting the band's drift from disco into boogie, WITCH's final album Kuomboka was released in 1983 without an accompanying single. New lead vocalist Patrick Chisembele injected youthful energy and a modern soul edge, most notably on "Erotic Delight" with its crisp drums, slinky keys and intoxicating bass groove. Pop reggae was also within the album's stylistic purview by way of the closer "Jah Let the Sunshine" as well as "Change of a Feeling," the flip side of a recently discovered single that wasn't originally released.

Mastered from the original analog tapes for the very first time, SHARP-FLAT brings you the WITCH DISCO SINGLES as you've never heard them before. From Movin' On, WIT 4 presents a single edit of "My Desire" backed with "You Are My Sunshine." From the Kuomboka sessions, WIT 5 presents a single edit of "Erotic Delight" backed with "Change of a Feeling," an unheard WITCH track released for the very first time in 2021. Joining the Rebel Disco Series in the wake of "Freedom Fighter" from early 2021, both releases are available as vinyl 7-inch singles in a regular black edition with a psychedelic African print sleeve as well as limited blue (WIT 4) and pink (WIT 5) editions of 100 copies each.

WIT3 // WITCH - "Freedom Fighter" / "Funky Reggae"

Many Zambian bands underwent interesting evolutionary trajectories over the course of the 1970s but nothing matches the radical leap undertaken by WITCH from the bold and progressive Afro-rock of their Janet album in 1977 to their fully fledged boogie outing Movin' On in 1980. These two incarnations of Zambia's most cherished ensemble have been comprehensively documented over the last decade and have attracted distinct legions of Zamrock and disco acolytes. Unreleased until now, the non-album single "Freedom Fighter" (with it's quirky reggae B-side) emerges as the missing link that unites the two WITCH camps, finding the group in Zimbabwe as the new nation came into being and documenting a mercurial period with their sound in the process of shapeshifting.

 

The expanded 1980s lineup of WITCH was interested in exploring the band's potential as a vehicle for modern dance in the vein of Earth, Wind & Fire and Kool & The Gang. Joining the existing core of Chris Mbewe on guitar, Gideon Mulenga on bass and Boyd Sinkala on drums were two former bandmates from the group Guys & Dolls in the form of Patrick Mwondela on keyboard and Emmanuel Makulu on guitar. Working alongside founding vocalist Jagari Chanda until his final departure was an additional lead singer named Stanford Tembo, who had cut his teeth a decade earlier fronting a group called Suzie Q. While the band was touring neighbouring Zimbabwe on the cusp of the nation's April 1980 independence celebrations, it was Tembo who introduced "Freedom Fighter" to the WITCH setlist. Resurrecting a composition he had written a couple of years earlier about the political struggle in Mozambique, Tembo recast the lyrics in English as well as Shona, Zimbabwe's most widely spoken language. The track prompted euphoric audience responses and was quickly recorded in Harare to document the historic moment.

 

Drums - Boyd Sinkala (Lead Vocal on "Freedom Fighter")
Guitar - Chris Mbewe (Lead Vocal on "Funky Reggae")
Bass - Gedeon Mulenga
Keyboard - Patrick Mwondela
Guitar - Emmanuel Makulu
Backing Vocals - Shaddick Bwalya

Recorded in Harare, Zimbabwe
Produced by WITCH
"Freedom Fighter" Words & Music by Stanford Tembo
"Funky Reggae" Words & Music by Shaddick Bwalya

Audio Restoration - Neal Birni
Mastering - Morten McCoy
Design & Layout - Ash Pederick
Liner Notes - Calum MacNaughton

Original Zimbabwe Release 1980
2021 Reissue Produced by SHARP-FLAT with Rebel Disko

Edition of 300 Vinyl 7" Single with Numbered Insert
Under License from WITCH
Cat. No. WIT 3

LINER NOTES

DIGITAL SINGLE