Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande

Watch on BFI Player or own it on Blu-ray from 26 February

Cymande are the greatest band you’ve likely never heard of, and this is their incredible untold story. Formed in south London by musicians who came to the UK from the Caribbean as part of the Windrush generation and led by Patrick Patterson (guitar) and Steve Scipio (bass), they combined jazz, funk, soul and Caribbean grooves to create a new sound.

Despite finding success in the US with their first three brilliant albums they faced indifference through prejudice at home, became disillusioned and disbanded in 1975. But their music lived on as new generations of artists, in the UK and the US discovered, sampled and reworked their pioneering sounds, taking their music to new audiences.

Illustrated with archival footage, the story of these unsung heroes is told on screen through new interviews with the original band members filmed over two years.

Credits

UK 2022
90 mins

Director Tim Mackenzie-Smith
With Cymande, Norman Jay, DJ Maseo, Mark Ronson Jazzie B, Khruangbin, Loyle Carner, DJ Maseo of De La Soul, Jim James, Louie Vega and more