Presented by Bad Vibes x Wide Awake Festival
Cymande
They’re the greatest band you’ve never heard of. Unsung heroes whose music was political, spiritual, and generations ahead of its time. Their story has never been told. Until now… Cymande, a group black British musicians who all came to the UK from the Caribbean as children, released three brilliant albums in quick succession in the early 70s and were embraced in the USA. But in the UK they faced a music business beset by prejudice against home grown black talent and were largely ignored. They split in 1975. But their music lived on, as successive generations of artists and fans found and embraced their songs. Hip Hop, House, Drum and Bass, R&B, Rare Groove and crate digging communities all saw something in the songs of Cymande that inspired them. And now the band are back. Touring the world and being embraced by yet another breed of fan - the internet generation who weren’t even born when the band split up 40 years ago.
2022 looks to be a new beginning and a rediscovery and rebirth for the legendary UK band. With a brand new documentary just completed and plans for a new studio album in the works.
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