Promised Heights

Recorded during sessions for Cymande's third studio album, Promised Heights, with producer John Schroeder and the London-based group's multinational ensemble of Caribbean musicians. The recording featured founding members Patrick Patterson on guitar and Steve Scipio on bass, alongside the group's characteristic percussion, brass and woodwind instrumentation. Released in 1974 as the title track of Cymande's third album, 'Promised Heights' demonstrated the group's distinctive approach to ensemble arrangements and rhythmic experimentation. Despite critical appreciation, the album failed to achieve the commercial momentum of their earlier American releases and preceded the group's withdrawal from regular performing in 1975. The recording became part of Cymande's celebrated early catalogue, rediscovered through the British rare-groove movement and subsequent international interest in the band's music. The album's 50th-anniversary reissue in 2024 and the documentary Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande introduced this period of the group's work to new audiences.