Sampa The Great unveils ‘Never Forget’ which she describes as an ode to Zamrock music

Riding hot on the heels of her performance at Glastonbury 2022, Sampa The Great has dropped an alluring new single titled ‘Never Forget’ – for which she linked up with fellow Zambian artists Chef 187, Tio Nason and Mwanjé – and revealed the details for her forthcoming second album.

In a press release, Sampa described ‘Never Forget’ as “an ode to Zamrock music, a genre born in the ’70s combining traditional Zambian music and psychedelic rock”. More specifically, the song was inspired by music focused on the kalindula, a traditional style of bass guitar that features prominently on ‘Never Forget’.

Expounding on how the song honours Zamrock and the kalindula, Sampa continued: “This tribute was inspired by the band WITCH and their lead singer, Mr Jagari Chanda, who has become one of my musical mentors. I discovered Zamrock later in my life and was surprised that this music was known globally, yet not fully celebrated and acknowledged in Zambia today.

“It hit home for me as I felt similarities in my own journey, having had my career take off outside my birth country. I thought it was fitting to pay homage to those who came before me and merge past, present and future through music and imagery; passing the baton from one generation to the next.”

‘Never Forget’ arrives alongside a cinematic video helmed by directors Rharha Nembhard, Imraan Christian and Furmaan Ahmed (the former two of whom also directed the video for Sampa’s last single, the Denzel Curry-assisted ‘Lane’). It intersperses footage of Sampa and her collaborators performing with archival clips of Zambian life in the 1970s.

Among the visuals shown is footage of the late Paul Ngozi – one of the most eminent pioneers in the Zamrock genre – as well as Zambia’s first president, Kenneth Kaunda, and classic performances from WITCH.

Source : NME.com