Cymande - 1972 - Cymande

Cymande 

1972

Cymande

01. Zion I 3:29

02. One More 3:06

03. Getting It Back 4:16

04. Listen 4:37

05. Rickshaw 5:50

06. Dove 10:50

07. Bra 5:00

08. The Message 4:19

09. Ras Tafarian Folk Song 3:08

Mike Rose - alto saxophone, flute, bongos

Derek Gibbs - alto saxophone, soprano saxophone

Steve Scipio - bass guitar

Pablo Gonsales - congas

Sam Kelly - drums

Patrick Patterson - guitar

Peter Serreo - tenor saxophone

Joey Dee, Ray King - vocals, percussion

Invigorating head music done Rastafarian style by Cymande. "Zion I" is a spiritual chant put to music, setting the mood for Cymande. A laid-back "One More" lulls you into subliminal meditation before "Getting It Back" jolts you into some scintillating Jamaican funk-fusion. There's a message in many of Cymande's cuts, with "Listen," and "Bra" (a recognition of the women's lib movement), the most inspiring. Both are sung with passion, and are skillfully executed; the former is slow and painstaking in its message, while "Bra" slaps you upside the head with a stirring sax solo and bass-fueled vamp. An air of supreme coolness permeates Cymande, unusual for a first effort written by members of the band. Cymande sound like they have done this before; nowhere is this more evident than on the beautiful "Dove," a gorgeous concoction of lead guitar, tambourines, haunting backing vocals, and percussion, with the horns used as sparingly as table-seasoning on a gourmet dish. Along with "Bra," the group's most popular cut is "The Message" -- it's difficult keeping body parts still on this grooving mutha. All in all, Cymande is a marvelous collection that premiered a fine funk band.

Cymande was a multi-national octet based in England, drawing members from Guyana, Jamaica and St Vincent, and although they didn't have the direct African link, they still had the blood and roots enough to come up about as close as the African-rooted Osibisa. Indeed Cymande's music spread through three albums in the early 70's was fairly similar to the Dean-esque flying elephant group, drawing on long instrumental phase, allowing much interplay between the 8 musicians, plenty of space for (soft) exploration, while remaining absolutely accessible to the greater mass of potential listeners, including even the most discerning progheads. Their music was evidently ethnic, percussive, psychedelic, progressive, danceable, fascinating, intriguing and exhilarating, that drew from jazz (the heavy brass section), funk (you couldn't black and not be funk back then),

Founded at the basement of a London strip club, the group recorded in Soho and released their first album in early 73, an album presenting 9 tracks, none over 6 minutes (except the superb almost 11-mins Dove), but leaving plenty of room for the numerous instruments. Sound-wise, as mentioned with Osibisa, you can also easily think of the Nu Yorican band of Mandrill or the Burdon-less War or in a lesser extent early Santana, but this is already quite a stretch. Driven by the organ and a great stomping bass, the group rocks, swings and funks.

Starting on Zion I, you'd believe that the group would draw a strong reggae feel, but it's not really the case, as with the following track One More, Cymande is off to a real African start, and its not Getting It Back that will change much, although this extreme sort of funky reggae with jazz influences is simply mind-blowing. But the rest of the album moves away and Listen has a definite Marvin Gaye's Grapevine feel. However, with the following Rickshaw, if the group hints a bit at War in its chorus, the music is enthralling and pure dynamite with delightful developments from guitars, flutes, percussions, bass etc. Much in the same vein Dove is equally heavenly, this time drawing on psychedelics ala Traffic and Rare Earth and it is a haunting guitar piece that could fit on some of the best Savoy Brown (I'm thinking somewhere on Raw Sienna, for example), although the slight descending scat/chorus line has a bit of a Coltrane feel (ALS). Such an excellent track!!!!. Bra is a strong change (even a good kick in the butt) to shake you from the enchanting torpor that had settled in with those two longer tracks, and the brassy funk is right up the Mandrill/War area. Some of you will remember the minor hit of The Message, one that was on Santana and War musical grounds, but the album closes on Rastafarian Folk Song, with a hilarious dialogue, before developing a reggae psalm, one that welcomes you in a different reggae world of The Wailers' territory.

Rasta prog-rock is a reality! I had been expecting Cymande to sound more like fellow African influenced fusion rockers like Osibissa, Santana and Mandrill, but instead, Cymande offers a much cooler and relaxed musical vision than their previously mentioned high energy musical brethern. 'Late night' is the best way to describe the sound of this very laid-back mix of sparse instrumental prog - rock numbers, African jazz- rock, Rasta drums and international pop/soul music. I could imagine a late-night FM DJ from genres as diverse as progressive rock, acid jazz, world beat and rare groove/soul gems would be proud to slip on some of these cuts for an unsuspecting post-midnight audience.

When I mention the Rasta influence don't think reggae, this is more like Jamaican hill music passed down from Africa by Rastafarians who live in the country and play traditional African drums and sing long winding melodies that seem, to my ears anyway, to bear some influence from English church hymns and patriotic songs from long ago. Cymonde adds to that traditional Jamaican percussive base with the classic jazz rock instrumentation of drums, bass, guitar and woodwinds. Some of their music might remind you of Traffic, Peter Green, Gabor Szabo, Bo Hanson, Jade Warrior and some of Santana's more laid-back songs.

This is a great album, not particularly difficult or challenging, but by keeping it cool this band has made an album that has almost no embarrassing flaws, sometimes that is exactly what I am looking for. If you want that cool reverb-heavy late night vibe with an international percussive flavor, this one is for you.

With the release of their self-titled debut album in 1972, Cymande emerged as innovators of the black British music scene. Taking influences from their Guyanese and Jamaican roots, the band fused reggae bass lines, Afro-tinged Nyabinghi percussion, psychedelic touches, and American-style funk into a unique sound they’ve since dubbed as “Nyah-rock.” While they were embraced in the US, back home they were largely ignored and soon forgotten by a music business beset by prejudice against homegrown black talent.

Cymande split in 1975 after releasing three albums in quick succession, but their music lived on as successive generations of artists and fans found and embraced their songs. Their far-reaching influence can be heard in the countless samples taken from their music over the last four decades, from pioneering DJs like DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, to De La Soul, The Wu-Tang Clan, Gang Starr, EPMD, Sugar Hill Gang, Fatboy Slim, and The Fugees -- to name a few. They stand today as one of the most revered and sampled bands in the history of Hip Hop, House, and Dance.