Livin' In The New Wave
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Album Summary
André Cymone — Minneapolis-born bass virtuoso and childhood running buddy of none other than Prince himself — stepped out on his own with 'Livin' In The New Wave,' released in 1982 on Columbia Records. Coming off years of holding down the low end in Prince's early band, Cymone was ready to speak in his own voice, and this record was his declaration. He took the reins on songwriting and production, sculpting a sound that married the deep, body-moving funk of his Minneapolis roots with the angular, electric energy of the post-punk new wave movement sweeping across the culture. That fusion wasn't accidental — it was intentional, fearless, and ahead of its time, born from a man who had been in the room where the Minneapolis magic was made and was now conjuring some of his own.
Reception
- The album found its footing primarily within R&B and funk-leaning markets, generating modest commercial attention without breaking through to mainstream pop chart territory in any significant way.
- Critics recognized Cymone's musicianship and his daring stylistic blend, acknowledging 'Livin' In The New Wave' as a promising early-career solo statement even while noting he was still carving out his individual identity beyond his high-profile association with Prince.
- The record did not yield major charting singles, but it succeeded in establishing Cymone as a serious solo artist with a distinct creative vision of his own.
Significance
- 'Livin' In The New Wave' stands as a vital artifact of the early 1980s Minneapolis sound, capturing the precise cultural moment when Black funk artists were fearlessly absorbing new wave and synth-pop aesthetics and making them their own.
- Cymone's work here helped lay groundwork for the genre-blurring that would come to define mid-1980s mainstream pop and funk, positioning him as a quiet pioneer of that cross-pollination.
- As one of the earliest solo albums to emerge from within Prince's inner circle, the record carries deep historical significance for those tracing the arc of the Minneapolis funk movement and the broader evolution of 1980s Black popular music.
Tracklist
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A Livin' In The New Wave 117
3:58
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AA Livin' In The New Wave 117
3:58
Artist Details
André Cymone is a Minneapolis-born bass virtuoso and childhood friend of Prince, who came up playing in those legendary early Minneapolis funk and soul circles during the mid-to-late 1970s before stepping into his own spotlight as a solo artist in the early 1980s. His sound was a smooth, electrifying blend of funk, R&B, and new wave, dripping with that Minneapolis magic — tight grooves, synth textures, and a slick urban cool that made records like "The Dance Electric" undeniable. Beyond his solo work, Cymone's fingerprints are all over the Minneapolis Sound itself, having co-written songs for Prince and later for artists like Jody Watley, cementing his legacy as one of the unsung architects of a movement that changed the face of popular music forever.
