Getting It back: The Story of Cymande + Q&A

Listening to 6 Music one day, it was surprising to learn that a band named Cymande, formed just down the road in Brixton in the early 1970s were responsible for so many familiar songs.  This documentary, Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande is the film that tells their story, and the music’s  legacy.

Most people will think they don’t know Cymande. But anyone who has listened to the Fugees, De La Soul or the Wu-Tang Clan, or who has simply been on a dance floor, will recognise their irresistible, infectious music. In the racially turbulent UK of the time, a group of Black musicians assembled with a common love of rhythms and a message of peace. Cymande – with the dove as their symbol – combined jazz, funk, soul and Caribbean grooves to form a unique sound. Despite success in the United States, they faced indifference in their native Britain, becoming disillusioned and disbanding in 1975. But the music lived on, as new generations of artists imbibed and reworked their pioneering sounds in fresh ways. From Soul II Soul to MC Solaar and beyond, the dove spread Cymande’s message far and wide, prompting their return after forty years. This is their story.

The film will be followed by a Q&A session with the Director, Tim MacKenzie-Smith.

Appropriately, we’re screening Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande at Herne Hill’s very own music venue, Off The Cuff, which has a well-stocked bar and snacks.

FREE MAKES IT INCLUSIVE, DONATIONS MAKE IT HAPPEN 

As part of this year’s Herne Hill Free Film Festival we are pleased to be supporting again the Lambeth & Croydon Food Bank, helping to raise awareness for this most worthy of local causes. Any donations by card or cash at each of our screenings would be greatly appreciated to help this wonderful charity continue its admirable work*

*After we have covered our production costs