7 Reasons Not To Underestimate Zambia At AFCON 13

I was unable to catch this week’s edition of Soccer Africa on Supersport, but I did follow proceedings on Twitter.  Before even a single ball has been kicked, many are of the opinion that Zambia will not see themselves out of group C, which also features Ethiopia, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.  Here’s 7 reasons why they are wrong:

Attacking philosophy.  Many have said that this year’s success in Gabon was down to luck.  On the contrary, the unprecedented triumph in Libreville was the result of free-flowing, direct football.  Quick transitions between defense and attack were a hallmark of epic victories against Senegal and Ghana.  The Chipolopolo leave the bus where it belongs: in the parking lot.

Cohesion.  The current Zambia squad has come up from the youth ranks and are a close-knit unit.  Many have said that the lack of big names discounts them from the ranks of real contenders.  But consider this:  the heart of the Zambian starting XI team play together week-in-week out at Tout Puissant Mazembe in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The transition from club to country duties is therefore seamless.

Home ground advantage.  Johannesburg is a mere two hour flight from Lusaka, and there are a significant number of Zambians living in South Africa.  During the group stages, Mbombela Stadium will be packed to the rafters with the Chipolopolo faithful.  Expect a lot of support from the host nation, as regional allegiance will certainly come into play.

Game changers.  Rainford Kalaba is the undisputed midfield general.  He makes up for his relatively diminutive stature with sublime ball skills, super-human work-rate and a special knack for the dead ball.  A specialist in collecting the ball deep and efficient distribution with visionary through balls that leave defenses baffled.  Also known to be a deadly finisher given half a chance.

Defense.  The twin-tower pairing of TP Mazembe centre backs Hichani Himonde and Stophila Sunzu are not known to give the opposition much room to create opportunities.  Behind them are a very safe pair of hands in Kennedy Mweene, the vocal and enthusiastic Free State Stars goal-minder who many have touted to take over the Zambia captaincy in the near future

Leadership.  The talismanic Christopher Katongo is every coaches dream captain.  Even on a bad day, his mere presence in the squad inspires confidence in his teammates.  Katongo is composed in front of goal and will punish any slack defensive work.  Chris is comfortable playing out wide on the right, and is known to drop deep to collect balls from his own half to orchestrate a Zambian attack.

Self-belief.   The class of 2012 shrugged off the “underdog” tag the entire world pinned on them and walked away with an historic maiden Nations Cup title.  Undoubtedly the boys will want to silence all critics for good at next years tournament.  Many players in the current squad play in Africa or minor European leagues and will be looking to have an impressive tournament so as to boost their professional careers, fully knowing scouts will be in the stands watching.  This will certainly present a problem for the so called “big names” of African football

Ignore the defending champions at your own peril!

I'm listening to stretch.dj in Hulkshare:

I'm listening to stretch.dj in Hulkshare:

A National Moaning

On the 19^th of September we were shocked to learn that Mama Betty Kaunda, wife of first Republican President Dr. Kenneth Kaunda had died in her sleep in neighbouring Zimbabwe.  News of her death was rightly received with shock, with many Zambians taking to social media to express their sadness at losing a true mother of the nation.  The Government subsequently announced a period of national mourning for the late heroine which has now been extended to Friday the 28^th of September following Dr. Kaunda’s taking ill over the weekend.  As we await our founding fathers recovery from hospital in readiness for Mama Betty’s state funeral on Firday, I thought I’d share a couple thoughts on the concept of periods of national mourning.

The presidential announcement concerning a period of national mourning usually states the duration of the period and the directive that “all flags shall fly at half mast and activities of an entertainment nature should be postponed or cancelled”.  I totally agree with the principle of respecting the memories of the dead, especially when, as in Mama Betty’s case, they have lead an exemplary life and have contributed to the general well-being of the nation.  My quarrel is with the length of a period of national mourning and its effects on the lives of some sections of society.  Being an entertainer and having a background in the private media, I am strongly of the opinion that too long a period of national mourning is retrogressive.  With the instruction to play solemn music throughout the day, radio stations often have to adjust their content to adhere to this directive.  This often involves a change in delivery format or indeed cancellation of sponsored programmes often from large corporate advertisers who often have paid up for their broadcast time in advance.  As to how this issue is addressed between the broadcasters and the advertisers I can only guess, as such issues were beyond my pay grade. The long periods of national mourning also have a negative impact on our musicians and promoters who may have to cancel or postpone a long planned-for show in some distant corner of the country.   After spending money on advertising a promoter or club owner has to bear the financial burden of the loss.

A quick Wikipedia search gave me an indication as to how other countries periods of national mourning… You too can have a read here.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_day_of_mourning In summary though, it seems the Americans only declare a single day of national mourning for late presidents on the day of their state funerals.  Nations in Europe will declare a single day in the case of the highest of high-profile deaths (Lady Diana Spencer and Israeli Yitzhak Rabin got a single day each!) and in the instances of a fairly large tragedy in which many are killed.  Here in Africa it seems the bigger is better, the higher the profile, the greater the duration of a period of national mourning.  In 2008 we saw an unprecedented 3 weeks of national mourning declared for then-president Levy Mwanawasa. 

Inasmuch as we need to honour our departed leaders, let us look pragmatically at the whole concept of national mourning, and not turn it into a meaningless and irrelevant tradition with no real benefit to the nation.  I felt the need to write this piece in order to give a voice to what many have discussed quietly amongst themselves but seem to be too scared or ashamed to say out loud. Rest in Peace Mama Betty, we have lost a symbol of all that is good in Zambian society.

Listen to Bana ba Kongo - Ngelengede feat. Eazy [produced by stretch.dj] on Hulkshare - Free Music Streaming & Download

Listen to Bana ba Kongo - Ngelengede feat. Eazy [produced by stretch.dj] on Hulkshare - Free Music Streaming & Download

Making "Ngelengede"

Just a couple of notes about the making of the song.

When I got into Lusaka early June, I linked up with the boys at UNZA Student Centre.  We got drunk, of course.  They sang me the chorus of "Ngelengede" at one point during the night; I like it so much I asked them to come through to the studio the following day so that we could record it.

The following day we ended up recording our version of Oliver Twist and only got as far as recording a single vocal on the chorus for Ngelegede after I had made the drum pattern at 123BPM and played a very simple guitar progression to guide us (Em D A x2 Am G D Em x2).  A couple days later I made the synth riff that runs throughoout the record (everyone tells me it has a 90s rhumba feel to it... I think thats what really drives the song) and the bassline.  Stashed the song for a couple days and then invited the boys over to come and record in earnest.  

This is what it sounded like on the beginning of the second day of working on it: Click here to download. .  Recording the verses took most of an afternoon an evening, mainly coz Billy despite being probably our strongest and most natural vocalist, really likes to take his time in writing verses.  Eazy's verse was fairly straightforward in writing and recording... as I usually do I helped him pick out his harmonies.  My favourite being the on the second "elo waibila ..."

Billy's verse (verse 2) initially I thought was way too long (24 bars!!!), and I had plans of cutting it up after he left.  But after listening to it like a million times I decided to leave it as is, simply because of all the raw emotion he put into the delivery and how incredibly melodic it was.  And we at Bana love melody.  He put down his lead vocal in 4 parts, citing lack of breath as making it impossible for him to do it all in one take. He then put a second, very melodic harmony on about 95% of the verse and finished off with a little baritone

heres a screen shot of Billy's verse

Albert (verse 3) on his good day is a recording specialist.  On this record I beleive he recorded his verse in one take.  Albert has a nice way of switching his verses 4 or so bars into it (as you will hear on other songs, and this song is no exception.  He started with the very sorrowful "umwana alelila" repeated for the first 8 bars.  The following 8 I asked him to put down a harmony to sort of thicken it out, as I had already figured I wasnt going to play drum for the first 8 bars and I wanted a nice dynamic change into the last 8.  I finally asked him to back up selected words as if he were recording a rap verse (for a teeny bit more thickness).  Finally he put down spoken ad-libs (if you listen carefully you can hear him saying "please tata... chaba shani kanshi... not even salt ... umfweni mayo" ... in the left channel). Other interesting features to take note are the little organ sound which I just totally loved and a little arpeggio from Hypersonic that was hiding in the mix all along but you only get to hear on this part after I muted the lead synth.

Mixing verse 3 gave me a hard time, as I wanted to create like a surreal psychedelic dream-sequence type feel to it.  So I experimented with some unearthly sounding reverbs and delays as well as the little African-inspired guitar riff on the right and a more 70s rock inspired distorted guitar sound on the left.  You can hear the same African riff right at the very beginning of the song.

The chorus was a real bitch to work with... I had wanted Albert's vocal to lead because he sang it so well, and Billy's attempts at singing a lead were way too bland.  Billy and Eazy were thus assigned harmony duties and I also put down one making it a total of 7 sung harmonies on the chorus, with a further 4 tracks of shouted "ngelegede" to thicken it out.  here's an acapella mix of the chorus.  See if you can hear my voice!!

I'll be entirely honest:  this isn't my best mix. The reasons are many but mostly time as I was working on a deadline to get the song and the video out.  And I feel I was being a tiny bit too ambitious with the sheer quantities of sounds I wanted to put in the final mix. For example I put a shaker AND a hi-hat pattern on the chorus, two snare patterns and like 3 percussion tracks.  Which frankly is extreme over-kill.  My strummed and finger picked guitar tracks are barely audible because I really couldn't find any space in the mix to put them, put I felt taking them out entirely would kill something on the song.  The finger picking, I'll admit, was pretty awful, which is the main reason its turned down so low.  Song was just too damn fast and my brain and fingers were just too damn slow!! Listen to the guitar work here



It was however my first true 24-bit recording.  I had the M-Audio Fast Track Pro for about 3 years, but only was able to really use it for the 6 weeks I was at home this holiday.  


and finally, the plugins I used!!


KORG Polysix (you won't hear this one... totally subliminal)
DSK Elektrik Keys (you wont hear it either... just gave shit some thickness)
KORG MS-20 (bassline...!)
KORG Legacy Cell (for the 90s style rhumba synth)
Organ-One (for that sad-ass organ on verse 3.. its actually on the chorus also)
VL-Tone (you wont hear this either... its a nice little emulator of an early Casio keyboard... I put heavy effects on it and let it sit quietly in the background of the mix to confuse the enemy)
Hypersonic (hey I think all of us have used this baby at one point in life, I stil use Hypersonic 1 but I'm very proud to say I'm not at all dependant on this plugin like a lot of people out there.  Used it for an arpeggio and also a little string and clavi sound
Cakewalk SI-DrumKit (hi-hats... I always use this for hats in all my boostele shit)
Sony DLS Soft Synth (shakers)


My drums came from my very secret 2 gig folder of samples.  The snare pattern was heavily influenced by Jimmy Judge's work with Mozegator.  Credit where it's due.  


I would appreciate al y'all's feedback on everything from song structure to mix to general direction, influences and the future of lack thereof of my guys.  Hope its been readable!!


You can listen and download the song here!!

profile: Bana ba Kongo

Bana ba Kongo is a collective of three very different Lusaka-based 20-somethings .  Founded in 2011, the groups music takes a very light-hearted approach to life and living.  Though very tempting to put the group down as a chiunda band, its nearly impossible to clearly define what musical genre Bana ba Kongo can be placed in, as the music is a fusion of many diverse genres. 

Just from the name (which, they insist, must be pronounced with hard ‘b’s!), there is absolutely nothing ordinary about this group.  The band’s music draws influences primarily from the work of contemporaries such as Mozegator, the Mimbulu Family and Ama Blax as well as Nasty D and the kalindula legends of the 80s and 90s.  Their sound, which is the brainchild of main producer Nkandu “stretch.dj” Kataya, is the final product of years of experimenting with different sounds such as house, kalindula, boostele, classic rock, hip-hop and dancehall. 

Freshmen (Ba Fresh)

Freshmen

Albert Njapau (real name Albert Njapau) hails from Chamba Valley in Lusaka, a quite fitting point of origin for the multi-talented singer/rapper. Anyone who knows "Ba Fresh" knows that his trademark is his incredible sense of humor. In the studio, Fresh is responsible for many of Bana Ba Kongo's insanely danceable drum patterns. Fresh has a fair amount of production experience working as Stretch's assistant during his time with  X.Y.Z Entertainment.  Fresh’s lyrical subject matter varies from side-splitting comedy to social commentary to catchy, feel-good call-and-responses.  On stage Fresh can fairly be called the most distinguished dancer of the three

One Billyon

One Billyon

Born Jilowa Wambilisome twenty years ago in Lusaka, Billy (as he is affectionately known) is a product of Mupapa School in Ndola. Billy's biggest strength lies in his versatility, counting song-writing and singing in all imaginable styles as his main threats. Billy can boom out a strong ragga hook, or something far more soulful and emotional at the drop of a hat. Coupled with his knack for creating concepts out of nothing, Billy hopes for a bright future in the game.  The happy-go-lucky University of Lusaka Commerce student counts Bob Marley and P.K. Chishala among his inspirations, and strongly admires the work of T-Sean and B Flow. 

Aubzee (Popo Fyuta)

Aubzee

If its not always his voice, its certainly his rhythms that are behind every BBK record.  Aubrey Chikoyo’s upbringing is rooted in music; his father being an accomplished guitar player.  During his school years in Kabwe, Aubzee and a group of friends were always to be found banging on drums and singing songs at every Kalonga High football match.  His ability on the drums can be heard on songs like “Bengi ba Baila” (where he collaborated  on production with cousin stretch.dj) and "Waluvyanya".  Known also as “Popo Fyuta” and “Red Panther”, Aubzee distinguishing mark lyrically is his poetic use of the Bemba language in his unique delivery, reminiscent of Shimba Boyd of Mimbulu Family in tone and Shimasta in terms of imagery. Metaphors and wordplay are his main staple as he adds to the group’s overall fresh sound.  

Bana first came on the scene late last year with their provocative Internet release ‘Lwimbo lwa Nsele’ which caused a major furor on the underground.  Despite not receiving any airplay (for obvious reasons) the group attracted attention from bar and pub owners, often being invited to perform a few tunes for their patrons. The feedback and response thus far has been encouraging, with many showering praise on the groups outlandish outfits and solid stage-work.  As of writing, Bana have all but wrapped up work on their yet-to-be-titled debut album set to hit shelves in July this year.

Bana Ba Kongo’s music is definitely a breath of fresh air in a Zambian music industry stifled with bubblegum music.  From day one, BBK have always strived to go back to the fundamentals and present a uniquely Zambian sound with a 21st century twist.  Despite the often edgy subject matter and sometimes unconventional approach to song structure, Bana believes that their music will keep people across the continent grooving for a long time to come!

#MampisHair

 Just a few of the best #MampisHair tweets from Thursday
(n.b. I really didn't mean anything malicious by this, just having a bit of fun... We are 100% behind you girl!)
    
    
#MampisHair now on @dstv channel 198

@Jackfro1 #stargame #Mampishair is fluent in 9 languages and is currently learning how to speak 'Am a very awful hair style' @stretchdj
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@exquizzitz #MampisHair is the original dark continent #Stargame

@FrancisTandeo @BigBroAfrica we luv u mampi u
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@Cutie_Cici Tbh if mampi came to aussie they'd search her hair for drugs n shit!! #realtalk #BorderSecurity
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@mack_sqw33zy #mampi #mampi #mampi........wats with the hair????

@ThatBoiDutch Beats by Dre & now we got WEAVE by MAMPI ,..#mampishair

@Mwine_Filimu The President has commissioned a commission to look into #MampisHair

@stretchdj "@the_banda #MampisHair is the reason for global warming" #stargame

 @stretchdj @dowjones5 If you look closely you will see two elephants, a land rover and six midgets playing golf in #mampisHair #stargames

@stretchdj #Mampi was here #MampisHair http://pic.twitter.com/tUDmfQcy

@stretchdj Fraudulently obtaining K1bn from MTN ain't beeeg #MampisHair is BEEEEG!!!

 @exquizzitz “@Lalozie: #MampisHair just might be #Zambia's 11th province...” *buries self alive*

@Lalozie #MampisHair is the reason Phineas and Ferb were finally busted by Candace...

@velaruze Adams family finaly find a wife for Thing #mampishair

@exquizzitz #MampisHair is the reason there's so much congestion on Lusaka roads

@exquizzitz I'm going to sleep late and fail to get up early tomorrow because of #MampisHair

@The_Banda I bet the girl in this picture wishes she had #MampisHair ~~» http://pic.twitter.com/LfpwkP4Q

@velaruze Breaking News lady gaga loses prop latest whilst on tour #mampishair
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@bnach92 @Miss_Bee90 Rapunzle Rapunzle let down #mampisHair

@velaruze If John Cena stands behind #mampishair .. Wat will he say? " U can't c me

@stretchdj #MampisHair > #MyasHair

@casbabie #Mampishair is so unbeweavable

@velaruze #mampishair hair can knock out Esther Phiri.

@stretchdj #MampisHair doubles as her back-up dancer

@Jaybzm #MampisHair can smell what The Rock is cookin'

@pumulokaywala RT @Excus3MyFrench: #mampishair is the inspiration behind Dandy Crazys #CHINTELELWE

@SaniboyMwale Let's have sex no #mampishair attached #dead
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@Fuchsiaristic So am looking at myself in the mirror right and my weave says to me,When I grow up,I want to be like #MampisHair

@Chipochedu *dies... comes back to life... Then dies again* RT @geshgroove " pap in Zambia in english is called nshima " #Mampi #BigBrotherStarGames
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@haksy89 Some say she can hide the Stig in it... Others say, astronauts are able to see it from space... All we know is, its called #MampisHair

@michstizzy Contrary to popular belief #MampisHair actually grew a human being;her name is Mampi,she is a singer & a contestant in the BBA7

@rebellion414 I bet you need a rake to comb #MampisHair

@Fuchsiaristic #Didyouknow #MampisHair originally belonged to Samson.

@stretchdj #MampisHair is going to be on the new currency

@Bradleychingobe Its easier for a camel to pass through an eye of a needle than to find a chigayo lost in #mampishair

@Hardy_LS @MCFC have sent Patrick Viera to sign #MampisHair for undisclosed fee rumoured to be in the range of $1,600 to $1,600,000

 @Hardy_LS #MampisHair fills my ......" tv http://twitpic.com/9jj7pc
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@stretchdj George Lucas is rumoured to be interested in #MampisHair for the role of Chewbacca in the next Star Wars flick

@TwentyKwacha #MampisHair will sponsor MMD's national convention.

@Princess_Cobra #MampisHair can scare Chuck Norris

@stretchdj #BreakingNews Bigfoot has finally tracked down in Randburg, South Africa. #MampisHair

@stretchdj #MampisHair shot the sheriff

@stretchdj There is a conspiracy concerning #MampisHair and the Eurozone crisis

@Lalozie The 2.1bllion buried by Liato was change he got after buying #MampisHair

@luchi7 The tennis world is thinking of using #MampisHair as a playing surface after experimenting with blue clay

 @stretchdj #MampisHair only dates football players' hair ;)

@Hey_Mr_Lee #MampisHair was an extra in 'Willow Smith's - I whip my hair' video #TeamZambia

@stretchdj #MampisHair has its own diary session #TeamZambia

@stretchdj #MampisHair could feed a family of 6 for, I dunno, the better part of eternity :)

@stretchdj #MampisHair ghost wrote "Swilili"

@stretchdj the purchase of #MampisHair triggered a week of mayhem on the Lusaka Stock Exchange

@stretchdj #MampisHair has its own website

@stretchdj #MampisHair is the GDP of Malawi

@stretchdj hey @kryticismusic lets start a TT #MampisHair
  
5:24 PM - 10 May 12 via web · Details