Now Again Records brings the phenomenal music and career of Zambian Rikki Ililonga and his pioneering band Musi-O-Tunya on the anthology Dark Sunrise. Zam-rock (Zambian psychedelic rock music) emerged in 1970’s and while the songs are primarily sung in English, this unique genre (which is like a fusion of James Brown’s pure funk, Jimi Hendrix’s distorted fuzz guitar, and Fela’s Afro-beat) has not reached much beyond the southern African nation’s borders. Dark Sunrise is a reissue of over 30 tracks, pulling together a collection of Ililonga’s solo albums Zambia and Sunshine Love as well as Musi-O-Tunya’s debut full-length Wings of Africa and 7” single rarities (on the cd format only). Packaged as a 3LP/Book Box Set and alternatively as a 2CD/Book, new listeners will be immersed in the sounds and history of the first independently released pop music in Zambia. – Written by JFelton
SIMILAR | Al Balabil, Louis Mhlanga, The Psychedlic Aliens, Slo Down, Witch