A band achieves cult status when something in its music, history, or artistic vision generates genuine devotion, even if only among a select few. Cult bands often have a greater influence than they realize and leave a low-profile yet invaluable legacy on the scene. Their careers tend to be elusive, far removed from mainstream popularity, perhaps only celebrated much later. For quite some time, Cymande was exactly that: the perfect example of a cult band.
In the early 70s, Cymande had everything it took to be the next Funkadelic or Earth, Wind & Fire, but deliberately went off the road in 1974, having released three albums that later became secret treasures. They were that Afro-British supergroup that never happened. Well, it did happen, but too briefly and on a very small scale. Most people would say they didn’t know Cymande, but the truth is that they’ve most likely danced to their irresistible and hypnotic funk, directly or indirectly, through original tracks or samples. You only need to dig a little deeper among some hip hop luminaries — from De La Soul to Wu-Tang Clan to Fugees — to come across those hypnotic sounds that Cymande conjured up in his heyday.
Fortunately, things are quite different for Cymande today: the band is touring the US and has a new studio album. It’s not just another nostalgic comeback: this is a vindication, with a genuine sense of redemption. Released last year, Renascence has a title that encapsulates their rebirth as a band. That’s what a wonderfully reformed version of Cymande will bring to the stage on March 25th at Miami Beach Bandshell, in a concert presented by the Rhythm Foundation. You can get your tickets here.
Formed in 1971 by a group of self-taught Caribbean musicians based in South London, Cymande drew inspiration from the percussive rhythms of the African diaspora, combining funk, jazz, rock and calypso with lyrics inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and their experiences as part of the Windrush generation (a wave of migration that the United Kingdom encouraged between 1950 and 1970 in its then Caribbean colonies to carry out a post-World War II reconstruction campaign). Their spirit of unity, resilience, and social consciousness is not only evident in their lyrics, but also influenced the band’name: Cymande means “dove” in calypso narrative, a word that symbolizes peace and love.
Cymande created vibrant music, fusing heartfelt rhythms and envisioning a more united world, determined to transcend racism and the monotony of the British cultural scene during Edward Heath’s conservative government, Prime Minister between 1970 and 1974. That brief period was enough for the band to pour their talent into three studio albums, their later-to-be-legendary seventies trilogy: Cymande (1972), Second Time Round (1973), and Promised Heights (1974). This talent also allowed them to become the first British band to headline the Apollo Theater in New York during a thrilling US tour. Back home in Great Britain, the reality was starkly different: no television program would broadcast them.
Cymande disbanded shortly after, more due to external circumstances than any internal crisis. The lack of attention from the local music industry eventually wore them down. From that final stage remains an unreleased recording from 1974, which was intended to be their fourth album, Arrival, finally released in 1981. Everything indicated they would fade into obscurity. But in the following decades, amidst the explosion of hip-hop and sampler culture, their music was revived. As time passed, their legend grew. The rise of online music gave them posthumous recognition, granting them the popularity they had been denied and adding a new and ever-expanding fanbase, some as young as their grandchildren.
“England didn’t really take us to their hearts in the early days”, guitarist Patrick Patterson said during Cymande’s performance for KEXP last year. “But certainly America did. And we are very proud and privileged to have had that love from the American audiences. So it’s nice to come back warm and woolly. And that’s partly due to American young musicians, who sampled us and used it for their own creativity… There’s some wonderful work with it. So, we’re very proud of our association with America generally.” There, bassist Steve Scipio, another original member, recounted how he learned from his eldest son that in the 90s bands like De La Soul and Fugees were sampling them. At that time they also learned that “Bouge De Là” by French rapper MC Solaar sampled their song “The Message”.
After a brief reunion in 2006 for a one-off show, Cymande formally returned in 2012. This reunion even motivated them to return to the studio to embark on a new recording adventure: A Simple Act of Faith, released in 2015, was the band’s first album in 41 years. The following year, they completed a short tour of the United States, where they had not played since 1973. The long-awaited revindication of Cymande is what every music lover hoped would happen someday. It’s what shaped the band’s career, including their comeback, of course. And it’s what motivated Tim Mackenzie Smith to make the documentary Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande. Originally released in 2022 and then re-released in 2024 with wider distribution, this film has become the best way to get to know the band, with its winding and largely hidden career. “The arc of history bending to the just,” summarizes Mark Ronson, one of the big names that appear in the movie.
In February 2024, during a presentation of Getting It Back at the British Film Institute, some members of Cymande were interviewed by BBC 6 Music DJ, Deb Grant. To begin, the host addressed the issue of the band’s late recognition. “I don’t think we ever lost that feeling of validation”, Patrick Patterson noted. “Because when we started out, I think we had so much confidence in the product we were making, the music we were playing, that even when we came off the road, we knew at some stage we’d get the band back together, and that’s what we did.” Of course, that comeback that would finally grant them some acclaim did not come immediately. “We intended getting back together at some time, but we intended it to be perhaps in maybe two, three, four years after we came off the road… It just happened that it turned out to be 40 years!”, added Steve Scipio, humorously.
“What’s wonderful is the appreciation the band and its music have received over time,” Patterson remarked, noting their return in 2012, with a new album in 2015. “We started to do a lot of gigs, and we’ve been all over the place, and the appreciation has been stunning, so we love that.” Scipio added his part to that story with a happy ending: “When we came back we saw that the music was being given a new life through a young audience; that’s what really struck us. Because music of that era… Yes, there are radio stations that specialize in old music and that kind of thing… But this music has a currency today, and that’s what surprised us: young people today are embracing it as if it were music of today, which really surprised us. And that’s why we have no issue with the sampling that was done in the 80s and 90s, because that’s what led to the relevance that music has today. That’s why we are being interviewed now, that’s why Tim has done the documentary about us. If it hadn’t been for sampling, that probably wouldn’t have happened.”
Photo: Cymande – Press
