Not just passionate about music, Bluey reveals his love for the resplendent Mauritius and why retirement is out of the question.

It has been 25 years since Incognito triumphantly hit the scene. Now, with two decades behind them and a conglomerate of 1,500 featured artists', the visionary Bluey is still on the prowl for new flavour.

Infusing the organic sounds of soul, jazz and the blues, Incognito is the ultimate UK act that has reinforced innovation and creativity to the music scene; tracks such as 'Always There' with the legendary Jocelyn Brown and 'Giving It Up' are just a brief glance of what is yet to come of Incognito.

So what is left for a band that has brought a wealth of beats to the UK music scene? Reminiscin' finds out.

Did you always have an interest in music?
From the earliest age around four or five, as far as physical memories are concerned my earliest memory is one of music. I remember hearing and seeing people play music at the hotels on the beach in Mauritius. These are the earliest memories I have as a child.

Who has inspired you to become a musician?
The most inspirational thing at the age of four and five was hearing the music of a guy called Ti Friere, a guy in Mauritius. As a child that was my earliest memories of seeing and listening to music. It was a major influence.

You initially started in the band 'Light of the World', a disco funk group - why did you decide to make the transition and create Incognito?
I was in a few bands before then. After we recorded the first 'Light of the World' album, we had an accident on the motorway and my best mate died in the band. It made me think life again, so for a while I went and worked in factories and went back to McDonalds, I was cleaning toilets in Debenhams, doing all kinds of things, 'cos I wasn't qualified of doing anything else but play music. I went to work in a factory and there was a guy working down the road called Johnny Rocker, I got together with him and we formed a band called 'Freeze'- you know a.e.i.o.u and southern freeze, that was originally formed by me and Johnny. Incognito came about after that. When it came to the a.e.i.o.u kind of thing, I could see where they were heading. I wanted to form something that wasn't a band as such, which was UK's first soul jazz collective.

What does Incognito personify to you?
Even the name Incognito was chosen because I wanted it to be ever evolving and changing. If you are in disguise then no one will recognise you and say this is the form that it is suppose to be, because we are always in disguise. The fact that it would come back with a different line up, different singers within the band-I thought Incognito would be a good name.

One notable aspect about Incognito is its line up; you have had over 1,500 artists' that have contributed to the band over the years - why did you devise such a format?
I have found out in an early period of my career, that record companies tend to welcome the idea of a band and then they realise the lead singer is what they are really after or that person right at the front -everyone else gets shunted off. I spent a great deal of time in the 80's making that concrete. I was apart of a few people's career, including people like Steven Dante. I put five years of my life in that kid's career and then they just came along and took him from me. It was nothing, not even a thank you. I was just kind of left with no kind of payment or anything. I knew this about the industry and decided I would make a band where it doesn't matter who is at the front, dark skin, light skin, from any country, doesn't really matter as long as you are playing.

So what is the recruiting policy when getting on board new artists' - what elements do you look for?
Somebody who is not gonna give me a headache! (Laughs) We had to go through the bad to get to the good. For me that kind of journey is worth making, it is worth making with anybody on this planet really. When you are responsible for a lot of people's careers you have gotta know how to hold your own, and that is what Incognito is about- supporting each other. It is a big support system. There is a criteria that is necessary to be Incognito and that is a good musician, a good singer and a decent human being. The only thing that sets people apart is that they are super talented at what they do. We recognise the human being and that everyone has got something to offer.

You have collaborated with Steve Wonder, Philip Bailey, Marcus Miller, D'Angelo, Roger Sanchez, George Benson and Terry Callier-who has been the highlight to work with?
I mean of course being in a studio with Stevie is like Whoa! All my life Stevie Wonder has been held as the highest. If there is a king in that world then it would be him-saying that, the person that has given me the most emotional feeling is Carleen Anderson. I remember we did a charity track for the Red Hot Organisation, an AIDS related charity. We worked hard on two of those records we made, but on one of them we were kinda working right in the middle of an album. It was really tiring and suddenly we got asked to do this and it was almost like it should have been hard work but it was real interesting. It was the most precious thing I did until that time. Carleen came in, sat down in a corner and wrote lyrics, we were writing music in the next corner and we put everything together. She went in to the room and she sang a song called, 'Trouble Don't Last Always' on the album. Carleen did one vocal take and once she finished, we hadn't even heard the words before and we were in tears. It was pretty much the same thing that happened with Jocelyn Brown when she sang, 'Always There' she was literally in that room for the length of that record, and she just sang that one take vocal. I was shivering when she came in the room- I was like a mess. It happened again with Chaka Chan.

Considering you have recorded various albums, 'Eleven', 'Inside Life' to name a few-can it get pressurising having to set the stakes higher and higher for new material?
It is kinda fun really. The only pressures I find is purely financial, because sometimes I have got these ideas but I just can't realise them. Then I get the fans on the website going, 'why didn't you use this singer?' Because she cost too much money! Or 'why didn't you put strings on this album?' Why don't you give me some money and I will put strings on this album (laughs). The thing is, once you are committed in doing something like Incognito, you can't just strip it down to a three-piece, I may as well do that on a different name. Incognito, I think, when you come and see us at one of our gigs, you are expected to see something-big voices, brass section, percussions kicking off, guitars, keyboards, the real thick sound, yet kind of clear and direct-dance and soulful music breaking it down to very emotional things. You kind of expect to have an uplifting emotion with people in one room; the coming together of all of us is a wonderful thing. It is kinda hard to do that and step away from the original concept without it suffering. I think sometimes once or twice in our career I have found our recordings have suffered a bit, but I put it down to lack of funds.

Where does your creative energy come from? Influences? Experiences?
Ideas are always inside our heads, anybody who reads books or goes outdoors or even watching TV will give you information. The fact that you step out your door, you start making life experiences, you start noticing people around you and how they are behaving; whether it is good or bad behaviour it is all writing material. A lot of it is personal experiences, a lot is related to the fact that I know I have women singers in the band and I am sensitive to what is going on in their lives. I would write something that I understand about and also what is affecting them at the time, so I can get that wicked vocal performance that they understand. I remember writing the title track, '100 Degrees Rising' it was in my diary .I had written it while going round the shops in New York. It began the process of writing a song; it was a hot summer's day. I had all the ammunition I needed, all I needed to do was keep my eyes and ears open that day and write everything I saw in my diary. When it came to writing the song it was practically lifting what was in my diary and putting it in to a tune.

What makes your music distinctive?
Distinctive is in the eyes or ears of the beholder. I mean what makes my music distinctive is the fact that is my story, it is told through me. We share many of the same emotions, we laugh, we cry, we live, we die and we act certain ways. For me, it is down to the fact that it is the one individual that is writing about it and producing it; that makes it sound different to any other person. It is their experience or the singers on that record, or even the lead instrumentalist. Apart from that it is all been done before hasn't it.

2005 marked the 25th Anniversary of Incognito during that time many artists' in the music industry have come and gone - why do you think you have got this far?
Because we never saw a small part of the world as our territory. People who play live and play live good are always gonna have a career. The one thing I always tell my band members is don't worry about outside. I tell them, I know your money is gonna be reduced, your song royalties are less than before, but hold your head up high, 'cos when you hit that stage you know you have got that class. Half the people who are making music right now are selling for a moment and then they will disappear-their life craft is rubbish, they don't know and they can't keep it up. They need a big stage set, they need the big money and they need to have the big lights, they can't do it in the Jazz café with three little lamps on them - they struggle. And that is where your talent, your heart and soul shines through - that is what Incognito is about. It is about going to China, India and South America. People everywhere want to hear this live music, but not every one can deliver this live music.

What has been your fondest memory in the 25 years of performing?
I think being in places that I dreamt about but never thought I would go. I certainly did dream about them big time. I wrote about 'Marrakech' - I wrote about it before even going there. I was dying to go there. Finally when we got an invite, it was from the King of Marrakech that invited us over-it was great.

Being in the industry for so long how has the soul/jazz scene evolved since then?
I always kinda like it when someone finds a new title for something that is basically a movement. Movements are good, some people don't like them. I like the fact that some people can identify with something. When a movement tries to last, and people are trying to sell you the lifestyle of smooth jazz, try and sell you the Lexus or the adverts on TV, they are trying to sell you the concept. There is nothing wrong with smooth music, but it is wrong when people try and sell it to you as a long time lifestyle. Anything like the acid jazz movement is great, it just meant that we had a chance to kinda all bunch up together and hit the road, and for a minute find out our own individual identity within a movement. If a movement lasts too long, everybody is looking the same, sounding the same, kinda like becoming a robot within it-it becomes that concept that everyone is trying to sell. For those who think they can make money out of a movement they are gonna see ways to exploit it, that's where it kinda goes wrong. As a musical concept it was really good, but when it went beyond the musical concept it had to die-it didn't last that long, but music last forever.

Being born in Mauritius - have you ever played back home?
I have never played out there, except for a little jam session in the hotel at St Geran. We look forward to going back there. Somebody keeps on threatening to take us back there. I think there is a handful of Mauritians on the scene right now that are making noise. I think if we did go back it would be inspiring to other Mauritians.

Could we soon see a Sega (Mauritian traditional music)/ jazz combo in the making?
Well for me just to deliver our kind of music and maybe kinda have a Sega band play alongside us would be great. I would like to extend my arm of friendship for all of us to have a jam.

You have produced and arranged for Chaka Khan, George Benson and many more do you have a preference - writing or producing?
No, I think the beauty of what I do, is I get the chance to do both and one compliments the other, and makes the other more enjoyable. It is chance to step away from it a bit and do a bit of each. I don't really have a preference.

Having fundamentally worked in the jazz funk scene - are there any other genres or artists you would like to explore or experiment with?
Oh Yeah, I think my days of experimenting are ahead of me. I think I have taken this long to kind of establish that. Before I started all of this, I was in a folk band basically playing acoustic music, so basically at some point I will go back to that. I would like to travel around the world playing with real acoustic musicians obviously blending it with the soul music I know. I think the days of experiments will begin slowly but surely towards the end of year. I always thought I would do Incognito full on until I was 50, which is next February, and then I will start messing with it. I want to still keep to what I plan to do, in terms of the overall idea but start experimenting. I would maybe go and do a recording in Brazil with Brazilian musicians or maybe go to Japan and record an all Japanese Incognito album. Towards the end of the year I would like to do a kinda concert that is one with strings and few other ideas that are in my head.

What does the future hold for Incognito - anymore albums in the pipeline?
We are working on two albums right now. Two Incognito records - one is an acoustic album. I am also working with Tony Remy right now on the Tony Remy & Bluey project. Dance music doesn't have guitar orientated albums- it might have been George Benson for a little bit, but not that much full- on guitars; so we have one. We are halfway through it, so it should be done next summer.

So no plans for retirement then?
Retire - what does that mean? (Laughs).

Related Links
> Bees + Things + Flowers CD - Incognito - Amazon.co.uk