Mythical African psych-rock band W.I.T.C.H. headlines the Chapel

By Dave Pehling

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Psychedelic rock legends in their native Zambia, African band W.I.T.C.H (an acronym for “We Intend To Cause Havoc”) returns to San Francisco to headline the Chapel Sunday.

Though largely unknown outside of Africa when they first rose to prominence, W.I.T.C.H. became one of the biggest rock bands to emerge from the continent during the ’70s. Led by charismatic singer Emanyeo “Jagari” Chanda and lead guitarist Chris “Kims” Mbewe, the group took their admiration for the guitar pyrotechnics of Jimi Hendrix and the irresistible groove of James Brown and crafted a style of fuzzed-out garage rock that drew equally from psychedelia and funk.

The group’s first three albums — the 1972 debut In the Past, 1974’s Introduction and the 1975 landmark Lazy Bones — established the band as one of the leading lights of a national music movement that would eventually be referred to as “Zamrock.” But by the end of the decade with the nation facing economic collapse and increasingly authoritarian government rule, bands like W.I.T.C.H. were forced to play daytime shows to avoid strict curfews.

That was around the time that Chanda would depart the band, seeking to support himself and his family by working as a teacher or a gemstone miner according to conflicting accounts. The band would continue in a more disco direction, eventually splitting up by the mid-1980s. But in the decades that followed, original W.I.T.C.H. records became a rare and coveted commodity among collectors and hip-hop producers searching for untapped sample sources.

The use of W.I.T.C.H. samples by renowned beatsmith Madlib for his Beat Conducta in Africa mixtape and the 2012 reissue of the band’s first three albums by Now Again Records sparked a massive resurgence of interest in the group. By this time the only surviving original member of W.I.T.C.H., Chanda would come to the West Coast the following year, performing at events hosted by Madlib in Los Angeles and at 1015 Folsom in San Francisco.

Since then, W.I.T.C.H. has become the subject of a new documentary that is still being made with Chandra putting together a new version of the band that includes ’80s-era keyboard player Patrick Mwondela and Dutch musicians Jacco Gardner (guitar) and Nic Mauskovic (the original drummer for Turkish psych outfit Altin Gun) that has become a festival favorite in Europe. The line-up came to the U.S. to play it’s first ever American tour in 2019 with a series of dates scheduled around an appearance at the Desert Daze Festival in Southern California. The group returned to the States for another round of performances in the spring, playing South by Southwest in Austin, Texas and the Treefort Music Fest in Idaho as well as delivering a blistering set at the recent Huichica Music Festival in Sonoma. The band has also recorded new music for what will be their first new album in decades.

For this return show at the Chapel in San Francisco Wednesday night, the group is joined by Swiss instrumental psych explorers L’eclair — whose sound combines such influences as Italian soundtrack maestro Piero Umalini and krautrock pioneers Can and Tangerine Dream with touches of house music and ’90s Madchester groove. Guitarist and songwriter Micheal Rault, who fills out the W.I.T.C.H line-up with fellow guitarist J.J. Whitefield, opens the show with a solo set.    

W.I.T.C.H (We Intend To Cause Havoc)
Wednesday, June 22, 7:30 p.m. $30
The Chapel