🕊️🎶🌴🎸🎷 In three albums, from 1972 to 1974, the short-lived British funk group Cymande will have had time to make their mark. Perhaps the fact that its founding members were all Caribbean had something to do with it. From Jamaica, Guyana and St Vincent, Steve Scipio, Patrick Patterson and their acolytes set up Cymande – for “dove”, a sign of peace – and their music blends reggae, funk, calypso, jazz, soul and African rhythms. Their minimalist yet so effective and fine-tuned vision of groove is their trademark, and the hits have been rolling in since their first album (Dove, Bra, The Message – whose bassline was later sampled by MC Solaar on Bouge De Là). Promised Heights is their third and final album, in the same vein as the previous ones, and the undeniable hit of this one is obviously Brothers On The Slide, even if the whole record is definitely worth the trip! For the record, the band have had regular resurgences since then, but nothing as serious as their early days.
Promised Heights – Cymande, 1974
