Described as “spiritual… versatile…smooth, sweet and very different”, no-one has yet to sum up the unique sound of Cymande in one simple word or phrase. Nyah-Rock, Afro-Rock, even Calypso Rock have been used to categorise their music, but Cymande is just simply Cymande. Formed in 1970 by Steve Scipio and Patrick Patterson, the band was made up of nine self-taught Caribbean born, London based musician/singers.
Today, Cymande’s legacy stands strong, with a large cult following both in the U.K. and the U.S.A.. They are one of the most sampled black British bands of all time. The music of Cymande heavily influenced the Rare Groove/Deep House scene of the 1980’s and sampling by Hip Hop, House and R&B music artists including De La Soul, Wi-Tang Clan, The Fugees, MC Solaar to name only a few, continues today.
