For a long time, Cymande seemed dead and buried. The band from the black London neighborhood of Brixton released three albums in the early 1970s. Their music was an innovative mix of funk, soul, reggae, rock, afro, calypso and jazz. They themselves christened it “nyah rock,” a reference to their Caribbean rasta roots. Ignored in their own country, Cymande threw in the towel as early as 1975. Only in the decades that followed did it become clear how influential their first three records really were when samples from them surfaced on countless records. A modest selection: Grandmaster Flash, De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan, Gang Starr, Sugar Hill Gang, Fatboy Slim and the Fugees. It made Cymande one of the most sampled bands in the history of hip-hop, house and dance. Since 2012, the group has been performing again with some (ir)regularity, and now they are making their debut at the festival.
