VIA PRESS RELEASE | In 1973, with the release of Second Time Round, Cymande solidified their place in music history. On 8 December, Second Time Round will be reissued on translucent emerald green vinyl via Partisan Records.
As children of the Windrush Generation, they were part of the first wave of innovators and originators of the fledgling Black British music scene. Taking influences from their Guyanese and Jamaican roots, the band fused reggae bass lines, Afro-tinged Nyabinghi percussion, psychedelic rock touches, and American style funk instrumentation into a unique sound they dubbed as “Nyah-rock.” Recorded while the band was fresh off a US tour with Al Green, Second Time Round was the follow up to their self-titled debut and firmly planted the band in the ears of an adoring US audience. Their debut was the first UK soul album to land on the Billboard charts, and Second Time Round placed them back on the US charts again. They were also the first British band to ever play the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem.
Reflecting on Second Time Round, Cymande bassist Steve Scipio says: “We recorded the first album from a body of work that the band had been performing live on the music circuit for some time. That body of work was also the source for some of the material for the second album. The second album was more studied. Our approach tended to be more focused on the message we wished to convey. We had cemented our sound and style during the process of recording the first album and touring the USA performing the songs, so we had a clearer vision of our musical direction.”
Cymande’s massive influence can be heard in the dozens and dozens of samples taken from their albums over the last five decades, from pioneering DJs like DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, to De La Soul, The Wu-Tang Clan, Gang Starr, The Coup, Sugar Hill Gang, Norman Cook/Fatboy Slim and The Fugees—to name just a few. They stand today as one of the most revered and sampled bands to have ever cropped up across the history of Hip Hop, House, and Dance music.
Today the band continues to reach new audiences. In addition to reissues of their classic albums, the band toured the US, EU and UK, and headlined at SXSW alongside their incredible documentary premiere Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande. This heartfelt documentary shows the band’s depth of influence across the decades, featuring interviews with Laura Lee and Mark Speer (Khruangbin), DJ Maseo (De La Soul), Mark Ronson, Jazzie B (Soul II Soul), Cut Chemist, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Louie Vega, Kool DJ Red Alert, and many more.
On 16 February 2024, Getting It Back will be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland.
