Back in the 1970s, rock dinosaurs roamed the earth; half a century on, south Wales’ Dactyl Terra offer an aerial overview of that past, supporting Zambian group WITCH live at Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach. Their bop‘n’stomp boasts a heady groove but also a lightness of touch, suggestive of what might have transpired had Super Furry Animals taken greater inspiration from transatlantic pals Dead Meadow. New album Fee Fi Fo Fum is out on their own label, Wasabi Overload – and they generate welcome heat without making us feel the burn.
Up next: Brighton-based longhairs Hutch seem attuned to summer, their first track redolent of hot, hazy outdoor festival afternoons marvelling at individual blades – and of DIIV, It Hugs Back and Cardiff band Sock. They subsequently pick up the pace a little, but it’s always a canter, never a sprint. Whether recalling the intro to The Who’s Pinball Wizard on Rainbow or paying homage to a legendary local shop on Radiator Centre, Hutch exude the happy-go-lucky joie de vivre suggested by the title of their EP Smile And Wave. Their whimsy is counterbalanced by charm, musicianship and, in the final song (about snails), a goosebump-inducing climax.
Headliners WITCH formed in newly-independent Zambia in 1972 and soon earned the nickname the ‘Zambian Beatles’, establishing themselves on record and through six-hour gigs as the ambassadors for ‘Zamrock’ – Afrobeat with Western funk and hard rock influences. As the 1970s wore on, political authoritarianism tightened its grip, and AIDS reportedly took the lives of all but one original member, vocalist Emanuel ‘Jagari’ Chanda. After a pivot to disco, the collective disbanded in the late 1980s.
Fast forward to 2012, and – after working as a music lecturer and gemstone miner – Chanda was inspired by rabid cratedigger enthusiasm and reissues to bring WITCH back to life, with the help of the band’s now UK-based keyboardist Patrick Mwondela. Since then, everything has snowballed: a 2019 documentary, festival appearances, and last year’s comeback album Zango.
Tonight’s set has a joyous, celebratory feel from the off. Chanda and Mwondela are front and centre, but the resurrection of WITCH clearly also hinges on the assistance of a strong and cosmopolitan supporting cast which includes a metalhead bassist in a Rage Against The Machine shirt and a percussionist in white dungarees and a bucket hat. Collectively, they convey the vibrancy for which WITCH are famed.
Hard rock riffs rub up against loose-limbed jive on By The Time You Realize, a warning to wise up and mend your ways or face losing your partner; the slinky rhythmic jive of the bilingual Waile underlines how Mwondela won his role in the band; and Introduction from the debut LP of the same name sounds like exactly like what it inspired it – vintage US garage rock heard through a cheap radio. Chanda explains the stigma attached to being a musician in Zambia, especially in the disapproving eyes of paramours’ parents, and tells us that if we don’t buy Zango “I’m going to swim back home – and your waters aren’t safe”.
WITCH originally stood for We Intend To Cause Havoc, but according to Mwondela now means “We Intend to Cause Harmony, Healing and bring Hope” – a laudable mission in troubled times. They can still kick up chaos, though, concluding with a riotous cover of Rufus Thomas’ Do The Funky Chicken and a stage invasion that (if my eyes don’t deceive me) features Sam from Hang Fire/Sam And Shauna’s Big Cook-Out on backing vocals. As Mwondela told Buzz ahead of the show, “a lot of people come to shows to experience the energy and warmth”. On that measure, no one leaves remotely disappointed.
WITCH / Hutch / Dactyl Terra, Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, Tue 30 July
words and photos BEN WOOLHEAD
