Cymande

Cymande are a long-running U.K. band who merge African rhythms with rock, funk, and soul alongside calypso, reggae, and modern jazz-funk. Their 1972 eponymous debut charted in the U.S. and won airplay in the U.K. and Western Europe. The rhythmic diversity and vocal harmony on 1973's Second Time Round offered their own unique brand of funky, pan-African, psychedelic soul and reggae. 1974's Promised Heights expanded that sound while reflecting the creative influences of Curtis Mayfield, Earth Wind & Fire, and the Temptations. Woefully overlooked, Cymande went on a four-decade hiatus. Their recordings won new audiences after abundant sampling by rappers and DJs. Compilations and their original albums were reissued. The band responded by re-forming in 2013. They released A Simple Act of Faith in 2015. In 2024 they returned with the charting single "How We Roll" featuring Soul II Soul's Jazzie B. They followed with the full-length Renascence in January 2025.

Comprised of members hailing from such exotic locales as Guyana, Jamaica, and St. Vincent, Cymande (pronounced Sah-mahn-day) was founded by bassist Steve Scipio in 1971, with Ray King (vocals, percussion), Derek Gibbs (alto/soprano saxes), Pablo Gonsales (congas), Joey Dee (vocals, percussion), Peter Serreo (tenor), Sam Kelly (drums), Mike Rose (alto, flute, bongos), and Patrick Patterson (guitar). The band played street, club, and house rent parties all over London. They were discovered by British R&B producer John Schroeder while playing in a Soho basement club in 1971. Not only did he love the music and singing, he loved the band's spontaneous, collective energy.

He took the band into a studio and cut demos. They were unreservedly signed to Janus Records, which sent them into a London studio with Schroeder as producer. Their eponymous debut was released in 1972 and charted inside the Top 200 and at 25 on the R&B album charts in the U.S. It landed inside the Top 40 in Canada and charted in Scotland. Its second side, back-to-back singles, "Bra" and "The Message," charted internationally. "Bra" was a dance club anthem; just a few years later, was a staple in hip-hop pioneer Kool Herc's mixes.

Following a long slate of international touring, they returned to the studio with Schroeder, and in 1973, released the overtly political Second Time Round. It, too, did well on the R&B album charts and the Top 200 with a signature blend of reggae and jazz-funk.

Following long tours with Ramsey Lewis and Al Green, they returned to the studio and emerged with 1974's Promised Heights, offering their nyah-rock sound but still reflecting their influences -- Curtis Mayfield, the Temptations, James Brown, and Earth Wind and Fire. The meld of funky reggae and abstract jazz horns (influenced by Joe Harriott), won excellent critical notice but failed to chart. Janus dropped Cymande in the aftermath. The band toured to support the album, and played gigs in England and Europe for the next several years. In doing so, their sound evolved. Cymande issued the independently released 1981 album Arrival on Paul Winley Records. Completely immersed in stylized R&B and disco, it stands apart from anything else in their catalog qualitatively.

While Cymande had virtually ceased to exist, new fans who discovered the band's '70s albums had other ideas. By the '90s, Cymande had a strong cult following, even more so after "Bra" was included in the soundtrack to Spike Lee's film Crooklyn. Their songs were abundantly sampled by rappers, producers, and DJs including Raze, Master Ace, MC Solaar, De La Soul, DJ Kool, and the Fugees.

Due to sudden popular interest in the band's legacy in the late '90s and early 2000s, three compilations appeared -- a British double-CD titled The Message (collecting all three of their albums), the 13-track collection The Soul of Rasta, and best of all, Renegades of Funk. They toured and played European gigs for the next several years.

Cymande officially reunited in 2011 with most of their original members, including frontmen Scipio and Patterson. In 2015, they released A Simple Act of Faith, their first album in four decades. Produced by Schroeder, who helmed their earliest sessions, the album reflected a more mature, polished sound that embodied contemporary R&B and jazz into their dubby soul-funk-reggae-rock mix. While it didn't chart, it did win acclaim from critics, and DJs spun several of its tracks in dance clubs around the globe.

By the dawn of the 21st century, Cymande's catalog had been, and continued to be, reissued by numerous labels, often in striking remastered editions that included singles and rare material. The reissues served the purpose of keeping the band on the road and writing.

It took a decade for Cymande to follow Simple Act of Faith. They issued the dancefloor hit "How We Roll" featuring Soul II Soul's Jazzie B. They followed with the release of the full-length Renascence on BMG in late January of 2025. Produced by Ben Baptie (an in-demand mixing engineer) the set included "How We Roll" and second single "Only One Way," a vintage-sounding soul tune featuring Celeste. ~ Thom Jurek & Greg Prato, Rovi