In 1974, with the release of Second Time Round, Cymande solidified their place in music history. 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.” Second Time Around was the follow up to their self titled debut and firmly planted the band in the ears of an adoring US audience. Cymande’s Cymande 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. 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.
