We’re pleased to announce a new feature at HoneySoul.com, Celebrity Blogs. The feature named “Straight from the Soul” will reflect the unique style and personal perspective of our favorite soul artists on topics ranging from music to current events. Their written diaries will add yet another dimension to enhance our whole soul experience.

From our “Soul 2 Soul” interviews, to our “Up Close” artist narrated listening parties and now with “Straight from the Soul,” we’re bringing you closer to the heart of soul.

On a personal note, I’ve had some amazing opportunities and experiences with some of my favorite artists and just like all the features on HoneySoul.com I strive to in some way make those experiences available for everyone, to make them fun and informative and to foster a life long love affair with this music. I hope you’ll enjoy this new feature and love it as much as I do – Honey

First up is Bluey of Incognito. Bluey gives us a personal look into the making of their newest album Bees + Things + Flowers.

Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick
composer, producer, guitarist, vocalist
London, England
incognito.org.uk

Navigating you through our new album “Bees and Things and Flowers”.

1: EVERYBODY LOVES THE SUNSHINE
We begin the album with a song that is a classic celebration of life.
The song also contains the lyrics that gave us our album title “Bees
and things and flowers”. It’s a perfect description of the circle
of life. This recording is also an acknowledgment to the creator of
the song, the pioneering artist and a dear friend of mine Roy Ayers.
In the UK this song has been a club anthem for several decades.

2: EVERYDAY
This is a rework of one of our most requested songs on the live circuit.
Beautifully delivered by Imaani and rearranged on the Fender Rhodes
piano by the super talented Matt Cooper. The song has been
transformed from it’s original anthemic club format into a close
sensual intimate affair. For me this rendition of “Everyday” truly
marks the arrival of Imaani as one of the UK’s finest vocalist.

3: SUMMER IN THE CITY
Our take is a hybrid of The Loving Spoonful’s original and the
Quincy Jones cover of the song. This version gets the full treatment
from the incredible Carleen Anderson. Her one take vocal soars high
above the skyline of the metropolis as she makes the song her own. I
asked arranger Simon Hale to depict the traffic noises at the
beginning of Quincy’s version with the string ensemble and he came
up with an awesome intro to the song.

4: ALWAYS THERE
I wanted to revisit the song that brought us back to the
international stage when it became our biggest hit in the early
90’s, “Always There”. Jocelyn Brown rarely uses her falsetto but
it was just what I was looking for against the simple arrangements of
the acoustic guitars. Her beautifully restrained vocal sets up the
following track “Raise” wonderfully. The words to “Always
There” take on a wider meaning when the songs combine.

5: RAISE
“Raise was written as a call to awareness.
I have long been an admirer of artists like Curtis Mayfield and
Marvin Gaye who were not afraid to ask questions and raise
consciousness through their music.
I wanted the song to feel like it’s coming right out of the streets
of London. Drum n’ Bass is a musical phenomenon that is truly British.
I called in 4Hero drummer Luke Parkhouse to thump the skins on this
cut. Jocelyn’s performance makes it an anthem!

6: STILL A FRIEND OF MINE
This song has been the one constant feature of every gig we’ve done
since it was released on the Positivity album.
I wanted to take the listener someplace else. Challenge them if you
will to experience the song from a different perspective.
So here Maysa and Tony take you on a familiar journey as they duet
over strings and congas. Were still riding open top, but the Citroën
DS19 Cabriolet has been replaced by a 1957 Buick Roadmaster.
Both will give you a fabulous but distinctive ride.

7: TIN MAN
Horse with no name had already played a major part in my musical
education as I was bassist and guitarist in several folk bands in my
teens. But my favorite song from the America catalogue has always
been “Tin Man”. Once again featuring Carleen Anderson breathing
new life to another song from the soundtrack of my life. “Tin Man”.
On our current tour our fans get a real treat when they hear Tony
Momrelle’s version of this song, it brings the house down!

8: CRAVE
I love the combination of creative forces, and this writing
collaboration with Matt Cooper literally took only a few minutes. Yet
it is the one I’m proudest of.
We wrote this with Imaani’s voice in mind and she did not
disappoint. I would have loved to have had Crosby, Stills, Nash and
Young on backing vocals though.

9: DEEP WATERS
When I wrote this next song, I did not have the faintest idea of the
impact that it would have for Incognito and Maysa in America. I
didn’t want to stray too far from the original. Maysa’s unique
tones and Tony Remy’s re-harmonized guitar chords, was subtle and
refreshing enough for me. So here it is, a minimalist version for all
our fans out there.

10: YOU ARE GOLDEN
There is a sensual purity to Tony Momrelle’s voice that is missing
in so many of today’s R&B vocalists.
I recognized it the first time I heard him, which is why I
recommended him to Sade for her last American tour. She gave him the
gig as soon as she heard him.
Here he sings a song that I wrote in the early part of 2006 on a lazy
afternoon sitting pool-side with a guitar in Bali Indonesia, I wrote
a song simply to tell my wife how I feel about her.

11: THAT’S THE WAY OF THE WORLD
I discovered Earth Wind And Fire in the mid seventies when they
opened for Santana. They were promoting the album “That’s the way
of the world”. It is still my favorite EWF album.
This version of the song “That’s the way of the world” is also
my personal tribute to my masters Charles Stepney (Producer and Co
writer of the song) and the incredible and multi talented genius
Maurice White of EWF who is unfortunately suffering from poor health.
I hope that hearing our version will bring him joy.
Maysa plays Maurice to Carleen’s Phillip and Andy Ross delivers a
stunning flute solo at the end, which is the highlight of this album
for me.

Peace
Bluey

If you’re an artist (or represent an artist) interested in blogging at honeysoul.com, please send your contact information to blog@honeysoul.com

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