“In the Beginning There was Rhythm” is a seminal track by the all female British post-punk band The Slits that combined punk, funk, reggae and disco into a coherent and gripping statement on how rhythm is the foundation of life and sound. Taking cues from close friends The Clash who were already knee deep in experimentation with reggae and dub, they broke boundaries by allowing black musical forms to seep into punk rock struc- tures. Indeed, this syncretic approach came to have a profound effect on post punk artists like Liquid Liquid and A Certain Ratio who started to use African polyrhythms into their sound or conversely black artists like ESG who used ‘punky’ guitar sounds to accentuate their natural approach to funk.