70’s funk pioneers Cymande have announced their debut Australian tour, marking their first-ever run of shows in the country in their fifty-year-long career.
Thu 29 Feb – Perth Festival – Boorloo / Perth
Sat 2 Mar – Princess Theatre – Meanjin / Brisbane
Mon 4 Mar – Liberty Hall – Eora / Sydney
Tue 5 Mar – Northcote Theatre – Naarm / Melbourne
Sun 10 Mar – Golden Plains Festival – Wadawurrung / Meredith
The British funk group behind hits ‘Bra’, ‘The Message’, ‘Brothers On The Slide’, and ‘Dove’ brought a captivating new sound to the black-British music scene that would go on to entrance audiences across the globe. Inspired by their Caribbean heritage and the wealth of sounds, instruments, and textures of the Black British musical sphere in Cymande’s 1972 self-titled debut.
Touted as “the most influential band you’ve never heard of” (The Big Issue), the first British group to headline the acclaimed Apollo Theatre in New York, tour with Al Green and call the coveted Blue Note home, to finding new life in samples from legends De La Soul, The Fugees, Gang Starr and many more. Their legacy continues today through their legion of rare-record collector fans from Gilles Peterson to Mark Ronson, and Queen Latifa to Masta Ace.
The cult status of Cymande’s music endures through its consistent rediscovery with every new generation, proliferated through KCRW sessions, Bandcamp profiles, Late Night Tales compilation features, Dekmantel performances, a Partisan Records reissue, and more recently documentary Getting It Back premiered at SXSW – Cymande have always defied. Cymande’s Australian tour in 2024 is an essential experience to witness.