Zambia had been a British colony until 1964, so the cultural influences were still very much European throughout the 60s and into the 70s. Young Zambian musicians were influenced by the British Invasion, Stax, Motown, James Brown, and Jimi Hendrix. Gradually, as independence progressed, Zambian and other African folk influences crept into the music.
Tsegulani appears on the Dark Sunrise compilation of songs by Rikki Ililonga and Musi-O-Tunya, the rock group he founded in the early 70s.
The song begins with a flourish of African drums. Then a low bass line followed quickly by simple rhythm guitar. Then horns, with western drums. Ndara Mbao is the lead vocalist and bassist. Listen to the rhythm guitar, it occasionally produces these cool little riffs in between the chords, like around 1:41. The lead guitarist on Tsegulani is Paul Ngozi. I love his solo. It starts after the second verse and chorus, at 2:33. It is a gritty messy pile of fuzzed out wah pedal mud. The drums and bass keep dancing around it, giving it some room. Things get back to normal around 4:30. Time for another run through of verse and chorus and a final blast from the guitar.
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