(September 18, 2019) British acid jazz band Incognito release their new album ‘Tomorrow’s New Dream’ on November 8th 2019, and have announced a huge homecoming London show at Indigo at The O2 on December 4th 2019, marking an incredible 40 years since their formation.
An enduring relationship with music has seen Jean-Paul (Bluey) Maunick lead his band Incognito to their 40th Anniversary. To celebrate this milestone, Bluey has recorded a brand-new album of songs and instrumentals with the hallmark Incognito sounds both familiar and fresh, encompassing acid jazz, soul, funk, and neo-soul.
This album offers a rich sonic journey at every turn that features special guests Maysa, Phil Perry, Take 6, Mario Biondi and many others, collaborating with band members past and present, along with the talented new ’Cogs’. It’s a record of brand-new, original tracks that would feel right at home featuring on any of their most enduring, classic releases from the past.
The album opens with a selection of collaborations, including the fifth Incognito appearance of vocalist Joy Rose (Sting, Chaka Khan, Herbie Hancock) on afro beat-inspired ‘Haze Of Summer’, The Montclairs’ Phil Perry on ‘For The Love Of You’, and a-cappella gospel legends Take 6 on ‘The Weather Report’. Also featuring on the aforementioned ‘For The Love…’ is long-time collaborator Maysa, about whom Bluey says “Combining the uniqueness of her rich soulful tones with Phil’s raw, powerful, and limitless vocal range is the stuff of dreams.”
Closing out the first third of the record is the instrumental ‘Saturday Sirens’, which utilises Incognito’s aptitude for creating soulful funk, and invokes what Bluey describes as living in a constant state of high alert in central London, as the feeling of rising crime can be magnified on a busy Saturday night.
The following trio of songs feature a young man whose band is a great example of Britain’s vibrant and ever- expanding music scene — singer-songwriter-pianist-producer James Berkeley and his neo-soul band, Yakul.
‘Shine’ and ‘Wake Me’ are short interludes born of Bluey’s musings and James’s ability to sensitively tap into the old and the new, and explore the rich musical world they each come from. The funky-edged ‘After the Beat Is Gone’ is a song about love’s uncertainty “Songwriting is deeply personal and the chemistry of cowriting has to be perfectly balanced,” Bluey muses. And in James he has found a like-minded soul.
The next tracks on the record feature talented female vocalists that Bluey has sought out, including Lethal B/ Wiley collaborator Cherri V on ‘Only A Matter Of Time’, Italian singer Roberta Gentile on ‘Absent In Spring’ and Vanessa Haynes (dubbed the Caribbean Queen of Soul by Bluey) on ‘Still The One’, which also features Indonesian harmonica prodigy Rega Dauna.
The final two tracks on the album to feature vocals are ‘Now That I’ve Found You’, an uplifting song that celebrates life and love and features the vocal talents of long-time Incognito vocalist Imaani, and motivational number ‘No Show’, in which vocal duties are handled by Mario Biondi, who famously dueted with Chaka Khan on Incognito’s ‘Lowdown’ from the Transatlantic R.P.M album.
Closing the album is ‘Say What’s On Your Mind’, a spirited instrumental that features, in a metaphorical nod to the title, solos from all the core Incognito members.
Incognito will bring tracks from ‘Tomorrow’s New Dream’, plus a selection of their greatest and best -known hits to Indigo at The O2 on December 4th 2019, as a celebration to their 40-year career, and enduring legacy as one of the UKs most beloved bands. Tickets from axs.com