WITCH is an acronym for We Intend To Cause Havoc. A Zambian group that formed in the early 70s, they were originally influenced by artists like James Brown and the Rolling Stones. Lead singer Emmanuel Kangwa Chanda even called himself Jagari after Mick Jagger.
Their first two albums have a mid-60s garage rock sound. Then, on their third album, 1975's Lazy Bones!!, Jagari Chanda took on a songwriting partner named Shaddick Bwalya. He was into heavier acts like Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. According to Jagari, WITCH's guitarist began to play the wah wah pedal after hearing Grand Funk Railroad's Rain Keeps Fallin'.
Jagari and Bwalya composed "Tooth Factory" as an attack on the band's former manager over a dispute about the mishandling of money. It opens with an immediate crush of cymbals, wah and fuzz guitar, then settles into a mid-tempo groove. Jagari sings about a man of ledgers...with a lot of bills to pay. I don't understand all of the words, but the delivery sounds bitter.
At 1:30, a slower instrumental section unites the fuzz and wah guitars, and the crashing cymbals take a breather. They are back at 2:15 as the music charges into a vocal section of passion and resentment.
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