CYMANDE

Rasta prog-rock is a reality! I had been expecting Cymande to sound more like fellow African influenced fusion rockers like Osibissa, Santana and Mandrill, but instead, Cymande offers a much cooler and relaxed musical vision than their previously mentioned high energy musical brethern. 'Late night' is the best way to describe the sound of this very laid-back mix of sparse instrumental prog - rock numbers, African jazz- rock, Rasta drums and international pop/soul music. I could imagine a late-night FM DJ from genres as diverse as progressive rock, acid jazz, world beat and rare groove/soul gems would be proud to slip on some of these cuts for an unsuspecting post-midnight audience.

When I mention the Rasta influence don't think reggae, this is more like Jamaican hill music passed down from Africa by Rastafarians who live in the country and play traditional African drums and sing long winding melodies that seem, to my ears anyway, to bear some influence from English church hymns and patriotic songs from long ago. Cymonde adds to that traditional Jamaican percussive base with the classic jazz rock instrumentation of drums, bass, guitar and woodwinds. Some of their music might remind you of Traffic, Peter Green, Gabor Szabo, Bo Hanson, Jade Warrior and some of Santana's more laid-back songs.

This is a great album, not particularly difficult or challenging, but by keeping it cool this band has made an album that has almost no embarrassing flaws, sometimes that is exactly what I am looking for. If you want that cool reverb-heavy late night vibe with an international percussive flavor, this one is for you.