Live music review: LEVITATION feat W.I.T.C.H and Os Mutantes at Empire Garage

The first night of Levitation Festival 2022 hosted counterculture pioneers W.I.T.C.H. and Brazilian legends Os Mutantes on the the outdoor Empire Garage Stage with a packed house of fans on October 27. It’s the kind of ideal dream bill the festival operators have become known for.

Os Mutantes took the helm of the Tropicalia movement during a time of political unrest in 1960’s Brazil. President Joao Goulart began his term in 1962 with a series of left policies including agricultural, financial, electoral, and educational reforms, favoring those in the low economic brackets. Policies included granting voting access to the illiterate, seizure of agricultural land along roads and railways, and the nationalization of foreign oil refineries.

Unfortunately, these policies were viewed unfavorably by conservative Brazilians, represented widely by upper and middle classes and the Catholic community. In 1964, conservative Brazilians staged a coup while Goulart was in Rio and successfully reclaimed office, ushering a period of dictatorship. In 1968, the Fifth Institutional Act enacted severe censorship policies, imprisoning artists and intellectuals. Historians refer to this period as Sufoco (“Suffocation”).

During the similar time period, the hippie counterculture blossomed as a population of Americans rejected involvement in the Vietnam War. Musicians produced music with antiwar propaganda. Nina Simone revamped “Backlash Blues”, a civil rights poem by Langston Hughes, into a song of protest. Former veteran Jimi Hendrix injured himself in a parachuting accident during the Vietnam War and distorted a rendition of “Star Spangled Banner” at Woodstock in 1969.

In 1968, Os Mutantes released their debut self-titled LP, fusing American psychedelic rock with Bossa Nova. Just barely out of their teens, Os Mutantes drew influences from pop culture: DC Comics, Jimi Hendrix, and the Beatles, their dreamy and whimsical tracks burying politically motivated lyrics.

They sang of blood, cannons, snakes in the Garden of Eden with cheeriness. Their music became distorted on the radio in a government ploy to censor all those who rebelled. Os Mutantes ultimately had to halt releasing new music in wake of sufoco.

Os Mutantes kicked off their tour at Empire Control Room on day one of Levitation. Each member taking the stage in flamboyant outfits: Arnaldo Baptista in a floral suit, Rita Lee in a dress with butterfly sleeves, and Sergio Dias in a sequin jacket. The first half of their set sounded as if a record lounge came to life. The audience revelled in the fluorescent strobes as the “Panis Et Circensis” opened with cinematic trumpets from a soundtrack, dipping up and seeping low with the same giddiness as “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”.

“A Minha Menina” and its static guitar loosened up the crowd. The audience samba-ed along to the percussion. The second half of their set incorporated more rock elements, closing out their set past time with rambuctious “A hora e a vez do cabelo nescar”.

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W.I.T.C.H

Meanwhile, in the 1960s, the Zamrock movement took shape. In the Zambian countryside, Emmanuel Chanda, front man of W.I.T.C.H. (We Intend To Cause Havoc) worked in the mines, gathering copper from rock faces. A new documentary by Gio Arlotta called “WITCH: We Intend To Cause Havoc” reenergized Chanda’s stardom and revitalized Zamrock.

Growing up, Chanda would read Melody Maker Magazine, fascinated by the Top 20 lists. “The Rolling Stones, the Hollies, Jimi Hendrix… anyone who could not play Hey Joe was not regarded as a good guitarist.” In 1964, Kenneth Kauda became president of Zambia and decreed 95% of the radio must be from Zambian origin. While many of Chanda’s colleagues produced covers of American and British artists, WITCH incorporated African rhythms and percussion, creating a unique sound derivative of Zambian culture.

Chanda, known also as ‘Jagari’ after Mick Jagger, led wild shows, climbing on the scaffolding, wearing women’s underwear over trousers; once, fans ripped off the roof in order to get in. However, in the 1970’s the Zamrock movement waned. The value of copper, which made up 95% of Zambia’s exports, was halved. Conflicts rose along the borders of Zambia. President Kauta imposed curfews and blackouts from 6 PM to 6 AM, halting any nightlife. The AIDS epidemic spread across Africa, claiming each one of WITCH’s members aside from Emmanual Chanda.

In the 2010’s, W.I.T.C.H toured for the first time out of Africa. Front man Emmanuel Chanda remains the only original member of the band, in his 70’s. They played “Introduction”, running down the list of each member, not just by name and instrument, but also a heartfelt banter. He described his drummer Nic Mauskovic as “the fixer: he fixes instruments and he fixes people.” It’s no wonder why Chanda ascribed such sentimentality to this song, as “Introduction” documents former band mates.

“It is such a shame I cannot see your beautiful faces. It is just one face. Can we have lights on the audience please?” Chanda’s radiant energy flooded from the stage to the crowd, engaging the audience between sets. “This next song is new and it is called Waile. It has not been released yet, but we will if you guys like it. You guys in the US have a lot of influence, so PLEASE LIKE IT.”

W.I.T.C.H lead singer Emmanuel Chanda introduced their new track.  “Waile”, released a month ago with Desert Daze Records, began with a memorizing beat and a dun-duuuuun dun-dun, with Chanda leaning into the beat. “Lazy Bones” began with guitar with opening notes in the fuzzy guitar stylings of Jimi Hendrix. A chorus sung, “She’s lazayyyyyyy” while Chanda danced around the center stage, shaking maracas.

WITCH will continue to tour and is set to release a new album next year.

All photos by Alexis Ramirez unless otherwise noted