I’ll be part of the COVER VERSION show curated by Pete McKee at A Month Of Sundays Gallery in Sheffield (UK) in September. We had to redesign covers of one of our favorite LP of choice.

I chose Cymande (1972), one of my biggest musical crushes (see original cover below) for which I recreated the original visual elements – a dove perched on top of a man’s head, guarding him with it’s wings, only this time, it’s painted in my own decorative style.

You may have never heard of Cymande, but if like me, you grew up listening to hip-hop – you will definitely know their music. They have been sampled by everyone from De La Soul and the Fugees, to Kool Herc, Master Ace, MC Solar, Grandmaster Flash, and the Ruthless Rap Assassins. Cymande were a British electric funk band who formed in London in 1971.During their short lived career, they toured the US after the release of their self titled LP in 1972 and sadly disbanded in 1974.

The band was composed of west Indian musicians who were self declared Rastafarian. Their music incorporates omnipresent Nyabinghi rhythms, which consist in a warm syncopated heartbeat added to a mix of jazz, funk, calypso, soul and rock. The name Cymande (pronounced ‘Sah-mahn-day’) was inspired from a calypso word for Dove, the universal symbol of peace and love, which their lyrics are all about.

Check out the original version:

Here is my version: