Mo Brandis contributes singing and songwriting to the new Incongnito album, Surreal. You can hear him on “This Must Be Love,” “Don’t Wanna Know” and the first single “Goodbye To Yesterday.” Below he tells Zane Tate about working with Incognito, his own music, and his charitable work serving orphans.

What was it like writing and recording songs with Incognito?

Mo Brandis:
It was a great experience and a dream come true for me to be part of this album. I was a fan for a long time, so to then be in the studio with Bluey, actually writing for Incognito or recording vocals with Maysa was literally SURREAL. I have the greatest respect for Bluey and the legacy he has created, so needless to say I was a bit nervous when he came to my studio for the first co-write. But he made me feel very comfortable and found a way to blend some of my contemporary influences with the Incognito sound that he had in mind for the new album.

And how has the tour been going?

Mo:
It’s been awesome. We have a great time on the road, and being able to travel the world doing what we love is just amazing. My favorite moment of the show is the very end, when Bluey expresses his and our gratitude for making us feel so welcome and celebrating life together. There is always so much positivity and love in the room, it’s overwhelming sometimes. We’re all from different countries and different walks of life, on stage and in the audience, but moments like that prove that none of that really matters.

Even though you’re new to Incognito, you’re no newcomer to songwriting (with gold and platinum to prove it). Can you tell us a bit about your musical background?

Mo:
When I was 12 I started out writing and recording with a producer in Hamburg, Germany, for about 20 hours a week and also took saxophone and piano lessons. That was a big part of my musical education. I got signed to Sony Music Germany as a solo artist when I turned 18, but got dropped a couple of years later along with many other artists, due to the SonyBMG merger and new management. I made some great contacts along the way though, which led to my first Gold record in Italy as a songwriter in 2006. I also co-wrote ECHO award winner (German Grammy) Tim Bendzko’s first single last year. The single and album went Platinum in Germany and Switzerland, Gold in Austria and sold over 800,000 records combined.

Whenever I’m not on tour at the moment, I try to spend as much time as possible in L.A., writing with some of the people behind Robin Thicke, Jason Mraz, Kelly Clarkson, Christina Perri, Colbie Caillat and Ludacris.

And you are also working on a solo album – how would you describe it?

It’s going to be a soulful Pop album seasoned with old school flavors. I wouldn’t be able to take out some of my influences like Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway or Michael Jackson. But writing a lot for contemporary artists is making me more aware of what’s working in the mainstream market right now and I am aiming to find a niche for myself that embraces both worlds.

Finally, could you tell us a little about your charity work? I understand you do a lot for children who are orphans?

Mo:
Yes, I spent my childhood in Swaziland, southern Africa, and my parents have always been actively involved in charity work in several countries. When they moved to Ethiopia for 4 years they founded a charity organization called Edget Baandnet (“growth together“ in Amharic) and I had the chance to work hands on for the organization many times. Especially the suffering of the children and witnessing the injustice with my own eyes had a huge impact on me and made me want to give back some of the joy and love that I’ve experienced. We currently run an orphanage with 16 children, a street children home with 30 children and an elementary school with over 2,300 children. I also wrote our theme song Live, Love & Learn, which has also been used for SOS Children’s Villages promotional videos for World Orphan Week 2010 and 2011.

Please visit www.LiveLoveAndLearn.org for more information on our work in Ethiopia.

Check out the video for Incognito’s “Goodbye to Yesterday” featuring Mo Brandis.

Incognito has just released a fantastic new album called Surreal. Bandleader Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick took time out of his busy schedule to tell Zane all about it. This is part one of that interview.

Incognito makes the most positive music of any artist I know. What’s the Incognito philosophy for making music that’s so uplifting?

BLUEY:
At a very young age I came to the realisation that music is true magic, and that with it came the power to influence moods and bring about change. I would witness the complete transformation of weary looking weather beaten workers from the sugar cane plantations as they arrived on the beach, bones aching and almost collapsing on the ground. Within minutes they would be dancing with wide grins on their faces as local musicians struck up the beat. They would echo the chants of (The man) who beaconed them to put their troubles aside and rejoice in these moments of ecstasy. I was captivated, hooked line and sinker! My mission from that moment was to be (The man)!

The new album has all the trademark Incognito sounds, but with a great new freshness to it. How is the Incognito sound progressing on Surreal?

BLUEY:
The last album (Transatlantic RPM) marked the end of a chapter in Incognito’s 33 year story. I finally made an album that included my peers, the very people who had moulded my musical taste and inspired my creations, were now a part of my reality. That album gave me the chance to write, record and share the most precious moments of my musical career with Chaka Khan, Leon Ware, Al McKay… Musical Royalty!

Well, where do we go from here? Enter Surreal – A new beginning with young musicians and singers combining with some of the greatest and love Incognito past members. On one side Natalie Williams a bright new light emanating from the buzzing London Jazz and R&B scene, Mo Brandis a young German singer song writer and multi instrumentalist with solid European chart hits already attributed to his name, Joao Caetano, a mesmerising 22 year old percussionist from Portugal and Francesco Mendolia, a young and most in demand drummer from Rome (Italy). On the other, Maysa (One of the greatest voices to come out of America) who has contributed to some of the the biggest and most cherished Incognito songs. Matt Cooper on keyboards whose talents has led him to work with some of the biggest names in music including Cee Lo Green, David Sylvian and Whitney Houston as well as his own projects (Outside & Latin Project). Vanessa Haynes whose incredible voice has been in demand by Van Morrison, Billy Ocean and become a firm favourite with Incognito audiences world wide.

The album has a freshness that could only be bourn from allowing for new ideas at the song writing stage and an open mind to production. I was excited by the willingness of the new members to try out new approaches and their exuberance in the studio. This positivity was in turn infectious on the rest of the band. We threw out the old recipes in making this album, but the strong sonic base that we have created over the years, the uplifting horn arrangements and our trademark rhythmic syncopations has allowed us the make bold new statements without loosing our identity.

There seems to be a hint of a Chicago House (and maybe some disco?) influence on this record. I know you’ve worked with Masters at Work in the past. Have you been listening to recent house and disco tracks, or is this more of a throwback to some of the classic music?

BLUEY:
Disco and House music have played major roles in my formative days as a musician and later at the most popular stage of my career. I was an avid clubber in the 70′s and that form of dance music continues to feed my soul. “Ain’t it time” (the only cover on Surreal) was a track I us to dance to by Queen Yaya in the mid seventies. Funny that you should mention Masters at Work as it was Kenny Dope who was responsible for it’s re-release in the 90′s. I love that soulful disco style and found it irresistible, especially as Vanessa has that killer power house vocal thing going on. You’ll also see that vibe surface on “The Way You Love” complete with Chic style unison vocals.

Though I was covering old ground on these cuts, I made sure that the production was tight. I like rawness, but not sloppiness!

I keep hearing people rejoice that Surreal is out in time for summer! While Incognito music isn’t relegated to summer and beach sounds, you seem to have a special gift for it (my wife and I listened to Tales from the Beach and Bees + Things + Flowers exclusively on our honeymoon). “The Stars From Here” is such a great example with Natalie Williams’ sweet and fleeting melodies. How does this sound come together for you?

BLUEY:
Some of that can be put down to my love of simple feel good songs and some of it is because I am from a small island and sun sea and the intoxicating tones of nature was a part of my daily life. But a big part of it is because of my limitations as a self taught musician whose raw melodies and chord structures are harnessed and embellished by some of the most amazing musicians and singers in the world. As you say, “The Stars From Here” is, indeed, a perfect example of my raw little demo done on a Dictaphone which was embraced by Natalie and she added melodies and lyrics in keeping with the astral theme of a previous collaboration “Above the Night” and Matt Cooper used the warm inviting tones of the Fender Rhodes to add an ethereal quality to my simple guitar chords.

Part two of this interview with Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick of Incognito coming soon…

Groovecatcher has returned with a re-release of their Skylines album, out now on Peacelounge. Deep and lush, this chill-out release explores sounds inspired by the sea and “that rarefied zone between the city and the sky.”

“Ultramarina” is set to a tight hip hop groove, made for head-nodding as well as relaxing. “Time and Tide” is a loungey Bossa Nova style track with beautiful vocals from Manuela Van Geenhoven. With jazzy drum and bass, “Smoke and Mirrors” shows Groovecatcher exploring a different BPM than you might expect on a chillout record. And my personal favorite, “Name in Lights,” pushes the genre-boundaries even further, mixing mid-tempo dance rhythms, electronic synths, and Jazz nuances to come up with something a little edgier than the rest of the album while maintaining that ethereal Groovecatcher feel.

Catch up with Groovecatcher right here.

You’re the Kind of Girl by Lee Fields dropped a while back, but we now have a video for the soul song.

From the new Orbital album of the same name, this is “Wonky” featuring Lady Leshurr.

Afrolicious is San Francisco-based collective who perform live with a ten piece band, and also as a DJ-duo with live percussionists and MCs. This song is called “Revolution,” and it comes from the group’s EP, Pleasuretime.

More info at Afrolicious.org.

Check out the QuestionmarQ site for more info on his coming Emotive Worlds EP.

On the way from Balanced Records is the Northern Faction 5 compilation. The release features beat-driven tracks with heavy doses of Dub and the occasional hint of Nu Jazz.

This track is called “2 Luvrs (Rise Ashen 4:20 Remix)” by Katalyst 5, and it’s one of the twenty songs on this release:

Northern Faction 5 takes a dubwise dive across both Canadian and global culture. Full on reggae and dubstep breath deeply alongside nu jazz and fractured beats while telling a story of hope in a corrupted world. Rich and complex, this compilation may require several listens to fully digest. Fresh Canadian beats are featured from Juno Award winners Dubmatix and Kellylee Evans as well as recent nominee Rise Ashen. Northern Faction 5 brings together the best from Canada’s conscious dancefloor producers, including Citizen Sound feat Ammoye, Lotek & Demus J, Hitori Tori, Earlyworm, Rcola, Katalyst 5 in collaboration with Rise Ashen as well as tracks from Redworm, Nate Wize and Version Xcursion. Northern Faction 5 also features contributions from the UK’s Richie Phoe, Amsterdam’s Process Rebel, South Africa’s 7FT Soundsystem, New York’s J57 and Subatomic Sound System and San Diego’s Tranzformer. Balanced’s central agency is represented by Billy Rockwell, The Seed Organization and Kasm.

Learn more about Northern Faction 5 at Balanced Records

Out now on Lemongrassmusic is The Riviera Sessions by Glam Sam and His Combo. Glam Slam gives us a nice mix of modern jazz and dance music rhythms on this release, and of course a heavy dose of lounge. The Riviera Sessions is fun to listen to, and ideal for lounging with friends and martinis.

Get Glam Sam And His Combo – The Riviera Sessions right here.

In 2011, Reel People released the album Reel People Present Golden Lady. The title track to that album was of course a re-work of the Stevie Wonder song Golden Lady, and it featured vocals by Tony Momrelle. Just last month the group released this video for the song.