Quad LP/Tape Poll Cymande: Second Time Around [Q8]

[EMB]

Janus 7098-3054H from 1973.


Program 1:

Anthracite
Willies' Headache
Genevieve
Trevorgus
To You

Program 2:

For Baby Ooh
Fug
Crawshay
Bird
Them and Us


ED

 

[quadtrade]

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Both of the quad Cymande tapes are sonically OK, but wonderful funky music. Different than any other quads. They are still at it. http://www.cymandeofficial.com/

Cymande were an eclectic band who released several albums throughout the early seventies.
They arrived in London, England from Guyana and Jamaica and developed a subtle, deep funk style heavily influenced by Calypso rhythms, Jazz, African music, and American Soul.
Cymande can now be seen as one of the most sophisticated of the heavy funk acts that evolved in the early 1970's.
By the mid-seventies the band members were going their separate ways. It wasn't until 20 years later that they reaped any financial rewards, as their music became a popular source for samplers.
Cymande's original albums are still widely sought-after by DJ's and funk afficionados.
Perhaps the band's best known recording is the soulful dancefloor groove "Bra", later sampled by the American hip-hop group De La Soul.

 

[EMB]

Yes, a good band, funky but adventurous. Their debut album--also just added to the polls--had their only two U.S. hits, edited versions of "The Message" and "Bra." But even these did not chart high, I suspect because these types of grooves were years ahead of their time, before disco and dance became popular and this kind of music would have reached a wider audience. And, of course, they were on Janus, a rather eclectic but limited label that only had a handful of major hits during the '70s, like Mungo Jerry's skiffle-influenced "In the Summertime" and Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat."

The quad mixes for both albums have real 4-channel separation, but this one in particular is also somewhat cluttered and dense, which makes sense, since this was an 8-man band with a lot going on. But, factoring in the music, I'd rate this one an '8'. There isn't much music like this in the quad canon, unfortunately, but well worth hearing.

ED

 

[humprof]

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Both of the quad Cymande tapes are sonically OK, but wonderful funky music. Different than any other quads. They are still at it. http://www.cymandeofficial.com/

Cymande were an eclectic band who released several albums throughout the early seventies.
They arrived in London, England from Guyana and Jamaica and developed a subtle, deep funk style heavily influenced by Calypso rhythms, Jazz, African music, and American Soul.
Cymande can now be seen as one of the most sophisticated of the heavy funk acts that evolved in the early 1970's.
By the mid-seventies the band members were going their separate ways. It wasn't until 20 years later that they reaped any financial rewards, as their music became a popular source for samplers.
Cymande's original albums are still widely sought-after by DJ's and funk afficionados.
Perhaps the band's best known recording is the soulful dancefloor groove "Bra", later sampled by the American hip-hop group De La Soul.

And they have a new album--their "first widely available new album in 41 years."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/arts/music/cymande-renascence.html
("Gift" version.)

There's also a documentary:


Nice long feature story, with an interview and song samples, on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday:
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/01/nx-s...-funk-outfit-cymande-is-back-with-a-new-album