News

Incognito

Incognito have been at the forefront of British soul for nearly thirty years now.

Jean-Paul Maunick, known to all as Bluey (he's had the nickname since school) dropped his first album Jazz Funk way back in 1979.

To not only last, but remain relevant through all those different styles, sub-genres and fashions is quite a feat.

Tales From The Beach, Incognito's thirteenth album, sees him going back to his roots and remembering his early childhood in Mauritius.

"Well it's kids stuff," he begins. Bluey left Mauritius for London at the age of ten. His father is Edouard Maunick, a poet and writer who was his country's ambassador to Nelson Mandela when he became president.

"When you're a kid, you believe all that stuff and on the island of Mauritius. I was listening to folkloric tales from the local musicians and there was a sense of humour about it. When you’ve got the music on the beach it’s spontaneous. It's not like somebody rehearsed it for several hours. What we got is their variation of soul as far as I'm concerned.”

He continues: “Tales From The Beach? It’s all about the kid who was sitting on the beach and wondering where the ships were going to. That’s where I got my sense of wonder. That’s where the songwriting comes from: wanting to see the bigger world."

Therefore, it shouldn't be the biggest surprise that Incoginto are the only band who could rival The Roots in the loves-to-tour-frequently-stakes.

"Most bands make records and go out on the road to promote them. We always kinda made records so we could afford the luxury of travelling. As passionate as I am about music, my first love really is travelling. Incognito's success is also because of that, because if we were reliant on being a British band and the success we have at home, then the nineties would have been the only time we would have been able to make music."

Incognito experienced their biggest commercial success in the early nineties acid jazz era, when they were signed to Gilles Petersen's Talkin' Loud label. Always There and their version of Stevie's Don't You Worry Bout A Thing were both big chart hits here and in America.

Since then they’ve maintained with quality album after quality album and hordes of heavy remixes. But that anniversary is looming on the horizon. Does Bluey have anything planned for next year? It seems he does.

"I've worked with Stevie Wonder, D'Angelo, I played on Earth, Wind and Fire's album, I've worked with George Benson, Chaka Khan. People who I used to dream about only getting a ticket for their gig really at one point in my life. Then there are the DJs like Roger Sanchez and Morales. I would love to make a record with all of these people.”

“It would be really nice to be able to combine it all. I want to make a record that links the whole music world that I've lived in and I'm living in by working with the people who influenced my career."

Sounds big. So if it's gonna drop next year, he better get his skates on right?

"We're speaking to people," he assures. "But for me, it’s got to be really organic. If iIve got to go through 20 different managers, then that’s not the way I work. If I call Stevie to come and do some key playing, I'm gonna have the utmost respect for his 'I can’ or ‘I can't do.' But what I don't want to do is go through thirty or forty people and then maybe three months down the line I maybe hear something."

Tales From The Beach is out now on Dome Records

Published: 01 June 2008
Issue: 1323

site comments powered by Disqus