Zangoma – Faka Mulilo

Zangoma – Faka Mulilo
Release Date: 31st January 2025
Label: Svart Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Zamrock, Psychedelic Funk.
FFO: Funk, Soul, Good Music.
Review By: Paul Cairney

You will be forgiven if the Zamrock genre is unfamiliar to you. I, for one, have never heard of it. For the uninitiated it is, ‘a musical genre that emerged and gained popularity in Zambia during the early 1970s and is a fusion of traditional African music and psychedelic rock, garage rock, hard rock, blues and funk’.

Faka Mulilo is the debut album from purveyors of Zamrock, Zangoma, who obviously hail from Finland! Comprising of mostly Finnish musicians, the band does feature Waina Kolomwe, a Zambian born vocalist who was advised by local sangoma, who had a prophecy where Waina would have a major part in revamping the legacy of Zamrock in a different time and era. Therefore, in 2025, we have Faka Mulilo.

What is immediately apparent when the opening track, ‘Chimbilimbili’, is that you are going to be in for a catchy listen that will quite likely be as original as anything the metalhead will listen to this year. The effect is immediate, but then imagine your surprise when ‘Small Talk’ kicks and impresses even further. 

The 70s vibe is palpable, the guitar-work is period and the album oozes funk. It also oozes soul, blues, dabbling with a subtle hint of reggae, combining everything into a wonderful fusion of musicality. You don’t know what is coming next, making it an exciting listen. You have the psychedelic funk of ‘Party Freak’ juxtaposed with the wonderful art-rock of ‘Zombi’.

Where Zangoma combine the vocals of Waina and singer/guitarist Ville Salonen, singer/bassist Riku Pirttiniemi, the band soar.  Miikka Heikkinen drives the tracks along with the drums, and we even have the sexiest of all instruments, the Saxophone, featuring. The reason we have guitars is because guitarists are just not cool enough to play the sax!

You will hopefully find your interest piqued from this review. However, when you see that the album is released via the magnificent Svart Records, you just know that Faka Mulilo will be a high quality, eclectic listen.

I can’t judge this album against similar genre releases. I’ve never heard of Zamrock. This may be the greatest album in that genre of all time, all I know is, this is a damn fine album.

4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

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