Quite Sane originally began life in late 80s London as the unlikely brainchild of three eleven year old music enthusiasts.

The band came into being when these three teenaged school friends, Anthony Tidd (Bass), Richard Cassell (Drums) and Eric Appapoulay (Guitar) decided to form a school band. For the next three years they would spend every lunchtime and Saturday diligently rehearsing at Eric’s house in a shed/studio that his father built.

Before long the three were playing London’s many jazz clubs and venues, whilst attending college at the Thurrock School of Music. A couple of years later the trio was joined by five of London’s brightest up and coming young jazz musicians, Robert Mitchell (Piano), Eska Mtungwazi (voice), Marcina Arnold (voice), and Melissa Beckford (emcee). In this new eight piece format the band went on to become one of one of London’s most celebrated young jazz/hip hop combos, known for its politically edgy songs, which fused jazz, through composition, hard hip-hop break beats and dub, with angular melodies, complex harmony and poignant pro-black rap lyrics.

As Anthony’s writing style matured these elements were seamlessly combined into a composition and live performance sound which made Quite Sane quite unique,

resulting in them wining a number of accolades including Capital Radio’s Band of the Year in 1992. For the next four years the band performed extensively, both on radio and stage throughout the U.K. This also opened up the festival scene in Europe, but without the ability to take it to the next level in the U.K by securing a satisfactory record deal, they soon hit a glass ceiling.

A frustrated Anthony, who had simultaneously begun to make his name as a producer and bassist, working with American artists such as the Roots and Steve Coleman, finally decided to leave the U.K for the U.S in 1996. Once in Philly Anthony put together a new band by the same name, which in addition to most of the original members, also featured some new American additions; Miguel Zenon (sax), Steve Coleman (sax), and Aaron Stewart (sax), Sean Rickman (Drums), and Sibela Grimes (Emcee). This is the band which went on to record Quite Sane’s 2002 critically acclaimed debut, The Child of Troubled Times, released on Rykodisc/Cool Hunter.

Fans all over the world have continued to request a follow up and it seems that this will finally happen in 2023.

This new sequel to The Child of Troubled times will bring back some of the original band members, Sean Rickman and Miguel Zenon, but also add two new vocalists, Erika Hicks and Laurin Talese, as well as pianist Paul Cornish, guitarist Miles Okazaki and wordsmith Kokayi. The new album is expected to drop in late 2023.