Self
The film follows the 21st Century formation of WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc), Zambia's most popular rock band of the 1970s, and documents the life of its lead singer, Jagari, whose name is an Africanisation of Mick Jagger's. Through the resurrection of a music that was forgotten by many and unheard by most, the film explores the life of a former African rock-star, and the excitement around the rediscovery of his music by Western fans, many of whom had yet to be born when his last album was released.
Folk-jazz composer/arranger Arthur Verocai was born in Rio de Janeiro. He has created challenging arragements and compositions for Brazilian artists Jorge Ben, Ivan Lins, Leny Andrade and Gal Costa. In 1972 Verocai recorded a self-titled solo LP. It is a stunningly innovative effort. It puts Verocai into a rarified field with the heavy string oriented music of Charles Stepney, David Axelrod and Frank Zappa. Released in a period marked by the Brazilian military government, the album fared poorly. Following its re-issue in 2003, the album has become a highly influential oft sampled classic (see Ludacris, MF Doom and Little Brother). The performance of this seminal 1972 record in its entirety brought the capacity Luckmann crowd to a stand still. According to Verocai, 'he had never played the record, alive or dead!' His delight can be seen on the DVD. The music has been mixed by Verocai himself in Rio. History turned on its head and musical justice served.
