Vinyl Vault: Cymande, “Second Time Round”
This week on the Vinyl Vault, we’ll hear some tracks from the second album of the legendary band Cymande entitled "Second Time Round.” The album was released in 1973 on Janus Records.
Cymande was formed in London in the early 1970s by a group of young black men who had immigrated from the West Indies. Their music combined many genres including jazz, rock, soul, R&B, and African rhythms. Many of their songs were hypnotic and trance-inducing with clear-toned, heavily reverbed guitar floating over catchy basslines and polyrhythmic percussion.
After three albums in the early 70s, the band failed to catch on, especially in their native England, so they disbanded and went their separate ways. However, over the years, people started to discover their music, especially DJs and rap artists. Many of their listeners heard the sounds dug into the source material and discovered Cymande that way.
By around 2014, Cymande’s music was garnering significant attention and the band reformed and started playing gigs around England. Attention has continued to grow over the last decade resulting in more touring by the band and a new album released in January 2025. The reconstituted Cymande will perform at the Bluebird Theater in Denver on Friday, February 21.
This Tuesday, February 18 at 8:30 p.m. on the Vinyl Vault, we’ll hear the early Cymande and, most likely, a bit of their new album. Check out the Vinyl Vault with Geoff Anderson on KUVO JAZZ.
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