..:: audio-music dot info ::..


Main Page     The Desert Island     Copyright Notice
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz


Incognito: Beneath the Surface

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Mercury Records Ltd. (London)
Released: 1996.10.21
Time:
 71:16
Category: Acid Jazz
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Rating: *......... (1/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.incognito.org.uk
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2001.04.11
Price in €: 6,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Solar Fire (Maunick) - 2:11
[2] Labour of Love (Harvey/Maunick) - 6:46
[3] Beneath the Surface (Harvey/Maunick) - 5:42
[4] A Shade of Blue (Harvey/Maunick) - 5:45
[5] Without You (Harvey/Maunick) - 7:20
[6] Misunderstood (Maunick) - 5:05
[7] Hold Onto Me (Hope-Taylor/Maunick) - 5:23
[8] Living Against the River (Harvey/Maunick) - 4:21
[9] She Wears Black (Harvey/Hope-Taylor/Maunick) - 8:46
[10] Fountain of Life (Harvey/Maunick) - 5:19
[11] Out of the Storm (Harvey/Maunick) - 3:49
[12] Dark Side of the Cog (Maunick) - 6:27

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


JEAN-PAUL "BLUEY" MAUNICK - Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Voices, Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements, Drum Programming, Mixing Assistant
GARY SANCTUARY - Keyboards, Moog Synthesizer
CHRIS DAVIS - Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
RONNIE CUBER - Baritone Saxophone
ED JONES - Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
THOMAS DYANI-AKURU - Percussion
RICHARD BAILEY - Drums
MAXTON G. BEESLEY, JR. - Percussion
GRAHAM HARVEY - Keyboards
PETER HINDS - Keyboards
RANDY HOPE-TAYLOR - Bass
TIM RIES - Tenor Saxophone
JAY DANIELS - Bass, Drums, Keyboard Programming
ANDY GAGADEEN - Drums

CHRIS BALLIN - Vocals, Backing Vocals
IMANI - Vocals
MAYSA LEAK - Vocals, Backing Vocals
RAYMOND SIMPSON - Backing Vocals
SISTER SARAH BROWN - Backing Vocals
LENNOX CAMERON - Backing Vocals
CLAUDIA FONTAINE - Backing Vocals

New York City Strings:
BOB BELDEN - String Arrangements
SANFORD ALLEN - Concert Master
SANDRA BILLINGSLEA - Violin
MARSHALL P. COID - Violin
JOHN R. DEXTER - Viola
BARRY FINCLAIR - Violin
WINTERTON GARVEY - Violin
STANLEY HUNTE - Violin
JEAN INGRAHAM - Violin
REBEKAH JOHNSON - Violin
JEANNE LEBLANC - Cello
JESSE LEVINE - Viola
SHEILA REINHOLD - Violin
MYRA SEGAL - Violin
BRUCE WANG - Cello
MING YEH - Violin
RICHARD BRICE - Viola
PAUL WOODIEL - Violin
DIANE MONROE - Violin
LIUH-WEN TING - Viola
RUDY PERRAULT - Violin
KURT BRIGGS - Violin
SARAH SEIVER - Cello
AARON STOLOW - Violin
XIN ZHAO - Violin
ELLIOTT ROSOFF - Violin
MARION PINHEIRO - Violin
YURI VODOVOZ - Violin
CARYL PAISNER - Cello
ALEXANDER VSELENSKY - Violin

New York City Horns:
FAYYAZ VIRJI - Trombone, Horn Arrangements
KENNETH HITCHCOCK - Flute, Alto Flute
ALEXANDER POPE NORRIS - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
ED XIQUES - Flute
JIMMY BOSCH - Trombone
CHARLES GORDON - Trombone
ANTHONY KADLECK - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
AVI "LEBO" LEIBOVICH - Trombone
GREG GISBERT - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
DUNCAN MCKAY - Trumpet
CHRIS DEMARGARY - Flute, Saxophone
MICHAEL DAVIS - Trombone, Bass Trombone
TIM HAGANS - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
DONALD DOWNS - Trumpet, Flugelhorn

SIMON COTSWORTH - Engineer, Mixing
JOHN GALLEN - Engineer
ROBIN "GRIPPA" LAYBOURNE - Assistant Engineer
GEORGE LAMBERT - Mastering
SHARON BLYNN - Recording Coordinator
DAVID MERRILL - Studio Assistant
LEE PHILLIPS - Studio Assistant
GARETH ASHTON - Studio Assistant
BART ELSMORE - Studio Assistant
ROB FARRELL - Studio Assistant
SIMON BURWELL - Studio Assistant
CHRIS SCARD - Studio Assistant

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1997 CD Polygram 534395
1997 CS Polygram 534395



"I'm an honest songwriter, I'm not trying to jump a bandwagon. I want to make R&B what R&B used to be." ...

Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick



Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick is a very busy man. Not content to be the creative, main force behind UK jazz-funk colossus Incognito, he's gaining a reputation as a killer producer of other musicians, notably R. Kelly, George Benson and Brazil's Ana Caram. In the time since the June, 1995 release of 100° DEGREES AND RISING on Verve Forecast, Incognito has completed two world tours.

After two consecutive global circuits as well as those production forays, a lesser soul would embrace the rest home. Not so with Bluey – he's on a mission. When the time came to record Incognito's new record BENEATH THE SURFACE, he had the tunes. "Lot's of stuff had been written on the road last year", says Maunick. "People in the band heard some of the new tunes as I wrote them. Before we went in the studio, we – my rhythm team, Richard Bailey (drums), Randy Hope-Taylor (bass), Graham Harvey (keyboards) – rehearsed for five days in the country, then we nailed the basic tracks in the first five days of recording."

BENEATH THE SURFACE's sultry, elastically spare underpinings called for lyrics of emotional depth and voices of celestial soul. "I tend to write from a personal point of view, of what went on in my life", admits Bluey. "For me, it's like these are very, very personal things – people in my life paying major parts in my personal life and career – they 're directed letters, I want them to hear it." Choosing the vocalists was a slightly more daunting task ... this time Bluey stayed close to home. He chose Incognito's '95 tour vox Chris Ballan, London rising star Imani and an old friend, Maysa Leak. "The best experiences have been having Maysa on the road and in the studio", reminisces the guitarist with a smile. "Now that she's become a bandleader, her mindset is better, more stamina, more confident than ever before (check out her achingly sublime readings of A Shade Of Blue, Fountain Of Life and Misunderstood for the truth, Ruth)."

Pressed for an analysis of BENEATH THE SURFACE's musical roots, Maunick says he was influenced by the Chicago Sound: "I wanted it to have a feel, I'm talking about Curtis (Mayfield). Orchestral soul music, not a retro sound, I was still trying to keep Incognito in there soundwise ... less in your face and a lot more in your heart. I wanted this to be more of a soul record – the soul of Incognito."

Sixteen years ago, the complexities and maturity of BENEATH THE SURFACE were beyond the wildest imaginings of Earth Wind & Fire - Herbie Hancock acolyte Maunick. A struggling guitarist/composer, Maunick scraped together the pounds to get his band Incognito into a studio to record a single. That single, Parisienne Girl blew up London's clubland. In 1981, Incognito released its' debut LP JAZZ-FUNK. A tasty little stew of sharp horns, popping and bopping guitars and bass, funky 88s and soulful vocals, JAZZ-FUNK virtually created a movement (and the bands – Level 42, Shakatak, Central Line – to groove it) overnight.

As scenes go in London, by the late eighties, jazz funk was D.O.A. Bluey was forced to disband Incognito. He paid the rent through plugging his ever-expanding song catalogue and producing records. By the end of 1990, Bluey had collected enough funds to give the ol' brass ring a last tug. The resulting album, INSIDE LIFE was a smashing comeback for Incognito. The global success of the record's hit Always There provided all the incentive the band needed.

Since the first album, Incognito has released five more on Verve Forecast – TRIBES, VIBES AND SCRIBES, POSITIVITY, 100° AND RISING, INCOGNITO REMIXED and of course, BENEATH THE SURFACE. It's been a long, hard, yet exhilirating journey through emotional nations, dancing continents and cerebral hemispheres for this master craftsman and his evolving musical sculpture he calls Incognito.

Offering up one more hefty pearl of science, Bluey sagely advises, "Sometimes people think they know you – this whole album is about my personal life – you make judgement, but you gotta' go deeper ... reach out for me."

By Unknown
From Verve, August 1997.



Beneath the Surface finds original lead singer Maysa Leak returning to the Incognito fold. Coincidentally or not, the record finds the group moving deeply into smooth, laidback, jazzy soul. It's a seductive sound and the group executes it well, even though there ironically isn't that much substance beneath the surface.

Leo Stanley - All-Music GUide



Fill your thermos with ice cold Tang, fasten your seat belt and recline your backrest as you prepare for another journey through the universe of Incognito. On its fifth Talkin' Loud album, this collective of like-minded musicians and vocalists departs with no set destination, zooming through jazz, soul and sophisticated funk as effortlessly as did its influences, which range from Earth, Wind & Fire, Roy Ayers and Stevie Wonder to Herbie Hancock. England's Incognito, which has been together more than 15 years, is a seminal band in 'acid jazz' history: the group's leader, Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick, helped lay the foundation of early British jazz-funk in the late '70s, and by the time Gilles Peterson signed it to Talkin' Loud prior to 1991's Inside Life, the band was already a skilled veteran in the new genre of acid jazz. There's little to differentiate one Incognito album from another: each one features silky rhythms back-lit by either blazing, soulful band interplay or the sweet, emotive voice of Maysa Leak, which is colored with jazz, soul and even blues. While Beneath The Surface is every bit as groovy as 100 Degrees And Rising, yet it's probably the band's most melodically infectious release since '92's Tribes, Vibes And Scribes, which featured, a cover of Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing." "Hold On To Me" sees the band peeking beneath Leak's terminally hopeful and upbeat lyrics, while there are some great funk workouts like "Solar Fire" and "Dark Side Of The Cog," which prevent the album from ever getting too deeply rooted in its otherwise congenial design. Fly with: the title track, "Shade Of Blue" and "Out Of The Storm."

Glen Sansone - Mar 03, 1997
CMJ New Music Report Issue: 511
© 1978-1999 College Media Inc. All rights reserved.



Following on the heels of last year's 100 and Rising, Bluey Maunick's Incognito drops a new album. As usual, the British production is clear and warm, making this a perfect set to lounge to. The vocalists, Chris Ballin, Imani, and Maysa Leak provide sterling work in all circumstances. Maunick himself claims to have attained a new honesty and simplicity with this album, trying to both avoid and come to grips with the paralysing indifference of the recording business in 1996 and beyond. He achieves this easily and has created a strong, mellow album that doesn't try to do too much besides be good music. A rare commodity and well worth buying if only to support the return of instrumental soul. Played with instruments. Imagine that. (7)

Hamish Clark - Real Groove
© 1996 Real Groovy Promotions publication. All rights reserved.



Der Mann gilt als Markenzeichen für gehobenen Soul-Jazz. Nun bringt Bluey Maunick kaum ein halbes Jahr nach dem "Remixed"-Album die nächste Incognito-Scheibe heraus. Auf "Beneath The Surface" darf sich der Hörer an Altbekanntem laben: an swingenden schwarzen Seelen, kecken Bläsern und knackigem Schlagwerk. Selbst Sängerin Maysa ("Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing") ist wieder mit von der Partie. Unterstützt von Chris Ballin sorgt sie für farbenfrische Klangtapeten, die jedem Stehemfpang Finesse verleihen.

© Audio



Jüngere Semester kennen die Truppe um den Mixer und Komponisten Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunich von ihren Veröffentlichungen beim Londoner In-Label Talkin'Loud. Doch schon um 1981, lange bevor "Acid-Jazz" zur Lieblingsmusik von Proseco-schlürfenden Ziegenbärten avancierte, forschten Incognito nach dem Berührungspunkt zwischen Soul, Blues und Funk. "Beneath The Surface" zitiert diese Tradition, allerdings in überaus entschärfter Form. Funk-Gitarren, Bläser und Streicher übertrumpfen sich geradezu an relaxtem Wohlklang. Etwas mehr Biß dürfte dieser Soft-Soul schon haben.

© Stereoplay
 

 L y r i c s


LABOUR OF LOVE

I'm a man, I know that you've been hurt by one and more
Understand, you have never known a love like this
A love like this before
A love like this before

Promises, I know that they come knockin' at your door
But it's me who stays, true to every word and more than this
I can give you more
I can give you more

Chorus:
You're living on the run, tell me baby, when will it all stop
I'm waiting for the chance I wanna give you, everything I got
Slow down take it easy, all you've got to do is reach out for me
We can work and make it
A labour of love

I'm a man, I know that you've been hurt by one and more
Understand, you have never known a love like this
A love like this before
A love like this before

Chorus

(Reach our for me)
A labour of love
(Reach our for me)
A labour of love
(Reach our for me)
A labour of love
(Reach our for me)

Chorus

Stop think it over, where I'm coming from
I'm not here to fool anybody, please don't get me wrong
Slow down take it easy, all you've got to do is reach out for me
We can work and make it
A labour of love

Chorus


BENEATH THE SURFACE

Here I sit and watch the crowds go by
Papa da papa papa yeah
But there's only one face I can see
If only they would understand
Papa da papa papa yeah
I'd open the door and let him in

Chorus:
How long can I hide, what I'm feeling inside
My love is a river, that's got to make its way into sea
This feeling can't hide, Lord knows I've tried
Beneath the surface
Beneath the surface

I try, though I know I'm hanging on a string
Papa da papa papa yeah
You're the only one thing on my mind
Keeps floating to a distant shore
Papa da papa papa yeah
As I go on denying myself

Chorus

Oh, keeps turning round in my mind
Oh, round and round in my mind

Here I sit and watch the crowds go by
Papa da papa papa yeah
But there's only one face I can see

Chorus x 2


A SHADE OF BLUE

A lifetime waiting for the light to shine
Suddenly you were here, like an angel appeared
And the world that I knew changed into a wonderland
Then you called out my name, Looked around and I found You were gone
Like the rays of the sun, disappeared into never ending nights

Chorus:
Where everything real has turned to stone
And the songbird has flown (you're gone)
Now I know a rose can change a shade of blue
Ooh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
A shade of blue

My body's hurting, crying and yearning
Sometimes I feel like I'm loosing my mind
And I think about you, knowing only you could understand
Here alone in my room, I can feel all the walls closing in
Feeling trapped in a shell, wishing that I could spin the wheels of change

Chorus

Repeat (Fade)


WITHOUT YOU

Lying awake in my bed, thinking things you said
Everything that I do, somehow leads me to you
(Closer to your love)
Lift my spirit so high, you're all I need to get by
I've been counting days, forever thinking ways
(To get closer to your love)
This loneliness will end the day you reappear

Chorus:
Living in this world without you here
It's like trying to reach the heavens when I've got no wings to fly
You can make this feeling disappear
Come on over baby, come on over to me

Living in this world without you here
It's like trying to reach the heavens when I've got no wings to fly
You can make this feeling disappear
Come on over baby, come on over to me

You started something in me, stirring constantly
Though we're oceans apart, I build a bridge to your heart
(Closer to your love)
Like a bird on the wire, sing my heart's desire
Caught in something so strong, I really feel I belong
(In the shelter of your love)
This loneliness will end the day you reappear

Chorus

Bridge:
I just can't keep it in, I've got to let you know
I got so much love to give you, gonna let these feelings show

Chorus

Repeat (Fade)


MISUNDERSTOOD

Rejection tars the roads where I have been
Still I'm holding on to the same dream
Came through fire and the pouring rain
To be told that I'm the one to blame

Chorus:
Misunderstood
(Never thought that I would)
Didn't know that I could be
(Misunderstood)
Misunderstood
(Never thought that I would)
Didn't know that I could be
(Misunderstood)

They're chasing shadows and they'll never know
The truth about us and their fears will grow
Only we know what has not been told
We'll meet in secret in the fields of gold

Chorus

Bridge:
So now they come to see me cry
Too late now, the well's run dry
I know they think I'm putting chains on you
Let the fools believe, it's what they wanna do

Chorus


HOLD ON TO ME

You try to take things easy, but your mind out of control begins to wander
Will there ever come a time, this searching and this waiting will be over

See our love can come and go
But there's something you should know

Chorus:
If you're looking for somebody
Who will always be there for you
Hold on (I'm the one)
If you really need somebody
Who will always take care of you
Hold on (Hold on to me)

I was made to love you and the voices in my heart they keep me knowing
You've got to give me time
All I'm asking is the chance to prove my loving

I got this feeling going on, taking hold of me so strong

Chorus x 2

I was made to love you, I know that much is true
I was made to love (you)

I got this feeling going on, taking hold of me so strong

Chorus (Fade)


LIVING AGAINST THE RIVER

In the early morning light you step into the cold
Your curses freeze mid air, the bus is late
You've got to get to work on time, your job is on the line
Soon you'll start again, the same routine

Deep inside your mind, the dreamers dream you'll find
As the day is long, it keeps you moving on
Trying to stay ahead as best you can

Sweep away the notion of a revolution
Do it for yourself

Chorus:
(There's no stoppin')
(Living against the river)
Do what you do what you do
(Got to keep pushing)
(When you're living against the river)
Do what you do what you do

As the light begins to fade and you're heading back for home
Your head is hanging low, you're feeling blue
From the corner of your eyes, under neon lights you see
The old man in the snow with worn out shoes

Sweep away the notion of a revolution
Do it for yourself

Chorus

Repeat (Fade)


FOUNTAIN OF LIFE

Chase the sunrise, people come together
Feel the glory of the new day
Feed the feeling, gather friends and strangers
Come together make it stay this way

Chorus:
Looking for the fountain of love
We fell into a cool paradise (He yeah hey yeah)
The rythm of the sand and the sea
Is where we've always wanted to be

I've been looking
(Looking for the fountain of love)
Searching
(Fell into the cool paradise)
I've been in search of paradise
(The rythm of the sand and the sea)
Sand and sea
(Where we've always wanted to be)
Wanted
Always, wanted

Always searching for a new direction
Your heart desires a better state of mind
Mother nature will provide the feeling
In the sunshine, happiness you'll find

Chorus

We've been holding on
Waiting for this day to come our way
Holding on
We've been holding on
Waiting for the light to shine our way
(Holding on)
Always waiting
Sayin' (free me, free me, free me)

Chorus


OUT OF THE STORM

It's hard to believe, that a year's gone by
Feels like yesterday
Strange as it seems, I knew back then, I'd feel this way today

The road is long, there'll always be wild winds blowing
(One thing you gotta know)
Beyond the clouds there's nothing but blue skies

Hey, hey, hey, hey

Chorus:
Out of the storm, come on in out of the rain
Out of the storm
Out of the storm, come on in out of the rain
Out of the storm

You try to slow down, but you loose control, like a runaway
A voice in your mind, lets you know, this feeling's here to stay

Don't turn around, look straight up ahead, keep movin'
(One thing you gotta know)
Beyond the clouds there's nothing but blue skies
Blue skies

Chorus

Got so much to give you, I got so much to give you
Got so much to give you, I got so much to give you
Baby

The road is long, there'll always be wild winds blowing
(One thing you gotta know)
Beyond the clouds there's nothing but blue skies
Baby

Chorus

Got so much to give you, I got so much to give you
Got so much to give you, I got so much to give you


DARK SIDE OF THE COG

(Instrumental)

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


Currently no Samples available!