{{Short description|Zambian rock band}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Amanaz | image = | landscape = yes | caption = | alias = | origin = Kitwe, Zambia | genre = {{Flatlist| * Zamrock * psychedelic rock }} | years_active = {{hlist|1973–1976}} | label = Zambia Music Parlour, Now-Again (reissue) | website = | current_members = | past_members = *Keith Kabwe *Isaac Mpofu *John Kanyepa *Jerry Mausala *Watson Lungu | image_size = }}
'''Amanaz''' was a Zamrock band founded in 1973 in Kitwe, Zambia.<ref name=":1" /> The group released their only album, the acclaimed ''Africa'', in 1975. Amanaz drew influences from American and British rock of the late 1960s–early 1970s, especially the music of Jimi Hendrix, and from traditional Zambian music, identifiable in Watson Lungu's drumming and Keith Kabwe's vocals.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Deming|first=Mark|authorlink=Mark Deming|date=|title=Africa - Amanaz|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/africa-mw0001957626|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-08-25|website=AllMusic|language=en-us}}</ref>
The band's name is the acronym of "Ask Me About Nice Artistes in Zambia".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Chanda|first=Davies M.M|date=8 August 2014|title=When Amanaz Band's beats rocked Europe|url=http://www.times.co.zm/?p=29814|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415152017/http://www.times.co.zm/?p=29814|archive-date=2019-04-15|access-date=2019-01-13|website=Times of Zambia|language=en-US}}</ref>
Past members include Keith Kabwe, Isaac Mpofu, John Kanyepa, Jerry Mausala and Watson Lungu.
== History == In 1973, the band recorded in the Malachite Film Studios of Chingola their sole album named ''Africa.''<ref name=":3" /> It was first released as a LP in 1975, and since then re-issued by the German label Shadocks Music in 2008,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Goranson Sandberg|first=Henning|date=22 July 2013|title=Why Zamrock is back in play|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/22/zamrock-zambia-music-rerelease|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-08-25|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> and by the American label Now-Again Records in 2015. Of the 12 songs of the album, three are performed in the Bemba language and the rest in English.<ref name=":3" />
The album continues to be influential as an embodiment of a strain of Zamrock. ''Pitchfork'' journalist Nate Patrin described it as "both behind and ahead of its era" and therefore uniquely "out of time".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Patrin|first=Nate|date=30 March 2010|title=Amanaz: Africa|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14050-africa/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-01-11|website=Pitchfork|language=en}}</ref> Music critic Mark Deming noted that Amanaz's music was based on "deep, bluesy grooves with a strong psychedelic undercurrent and thick layers of fuzz guitar".<ref name=":3" />
Amanaz split up in 1976. Keith Kabwe, the former band leader and main vocalist, then created the short-lived band Drive Unit the same year.<ref name=":0" />
By 2014, Keith Kabwe served as a Pentecostal pastor in Mbala and was working on the release of gospel songs.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Chris A.|date=5 August 2014|title=We're a Zambian Band|url=http://theappendix.net/issues/2014/7/were-a-zambian-band|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-08-25|website=The Appendix}}</ref>
Amanaz's song "Khala My Friend" has been featured in several television shows and films. In 2012, it appeared on the soundtrack of Rick Alverson's ''The Comedy''. In 2016, the song was featured in Season 1, Episode 2 of the TBS show ''People of Earth'', as well as Season 3, Episode 1 of the HBO show ''High Maintenance''.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=2016-09-16|title=High Maintenance|url=https://www.tunefind.com/show/high-maintenance/season-3/76679|access-date=2024-07-30|archive-url=|archive-date=|website=TuneFind}}</ref> Then again in 2021, in the closing credits of Season 2, Episode 3 ("Do the Right-est Thing") of the Apple TV+ series ''Ted Lasso''.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=2021-08-06|title=Ted Lasso Soundtrack|url=https://www.tunefind.com/show/ted-lasso/season-2/110267|access-date=2021-08-10|archive-url=|archive-date=|website=TuneFind}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Phipps|first=Keith|date=2021-08-06|title=Ted Lasso Recap: Bizarro Ted|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/ted-lasso-recap-season-2-episode-3-do-the-right-est-thing.html|access-date=2021-08-10|archive-url=|archive-date=|website=The Vulture}}</ref>
In 2023, a song from their 1975 album Africa, "Nsunka Lwendo" was sampled on American Rapper Travis Scott' song "Sirens" from his 2023 album Utopia.
== Discography ==
* ''Africa'' (1975)<ref name=":3" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
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Category:Zambian rock music groups Category:Musical groups established in 1973 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1976 Category:People from Kitwe Category:Now-Again Records artists
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