Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande / Film School Radio interview with Director Tim MacKenzie-Smith

KUCI: Film School

GETTING IT BACK: THE STORY OF CYMANDE lovingly recounts the journey of Cymande, a group of Black British musicians who all came to the U.K. from the Caribbean as children, released three brilliant albums in quick succession in the early 1970s and were embraced in the USA. But in the U.K., they faced a music business beset by prejudice against homegrown Black talent and were largely ignored. They originally split in 1975, but their music lived on, as successive generations of artists and fans found and embraced their songs. Hip Hop, House, Drum and Bass, R&B, Rare Groove, and crate-digging communities all saw something in the songs of Cymande that inspired them. Through insightful interviews with band members and influential figures including Mark Ronson, Laura Lee and Mark Speer (Khruangbin), DJ Maseo (De La Soul), Jazzie B (Soul II Soul), Cut Chemist, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Louie Vega, and Kool DJ Red Alert, this stranger than fiction documentary explores the band's profound impact and enduring legacy. Director Tim MacKenzie-Smith stops by to talk about his own introduction to the music of Cymande, designing the look and feel of the film to seen as a big screen communal experience, how the band members kept each others hope, music and spirit alive over the years, and the joy of seeing the band and their music get the recognition it deserves. For more go to: cymandeofficial.com/film