Second Time Round

The 1973 second album from idiosyncratic UK/West Indian Rasta-funk outfit Cymande is a collection of songs that uniquely meld funk, soul, folk, Rastafarian Nyabinghi drumming and progressive rock. Mostly written by guitarist Patrick Patterson and bassist Steve Scipio, their sound is heavy with percussion and moves between an organic, hazy funk aesthetic and a West Indian folk tradition. The unison horn lines are simple, their guitar sound is a fat, warm jazz tone and the basslines distinctively melodic and spacious. The album includes the widely sampled party-friendly, polyrhythmic funk classic “Fug,” while elsewhere the mood is more introspective and dreamlike, with slightly dislocated, unearthly horn lines, hippie flutes and haunting soul/folk vocals complimenting the layers of percussion and bass. It’s a fairly unique sounding musical combination and there really isn’t any other band quite like Cymande.