Digging Our Own Crates: Incognito – Parisienne Girl

“I also wrote to Bluey from Incognito asking him to do an interview with me at my own little pirate radio station. I’d set up my own station in the back garden of our house and my dad used to help me put the aerials up. Incognito had just put out their album Jazz Funk and I loved it. Bluey was living in Tottenham and he came all the way to Sutton to be interviewed by this 16-year-old kid. Amazingly and happily, 15 years later, when I set up my Talkin’ Loud record label, the first act I signed was Incognito, and not only that, they turned out to be my most successful signing!”—Gilles Peterson

Incognito, the ever-evolving UK collective whose authentic sound has endured decades of changes in the industry under the leadership of Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick, is an acid jazz staple. Looking back at our interview archives, it’s no wonder that Gilles Peterson, DJ and pioneer of acid jazz, would have a copy of their 1980 single, “Parisienne Girl,” amongst his behemoth of a record collection. The single, also found on their 1981 debut album “Jazz Funk,” is a delicious mesh of the two genres, with electronic undertones that reach into acid jazz—the genre it would eventually be known for. The song’s smooth sax solo, paired with the multi-layered textures of synths, gives listeners the impression of being caught up in the wave of a playful love affair.

The band signed to Peterson’s label Talkin’ Loud 15 years after their debut; Peterson commented, “They turned out to be my most successful signing!” In 2023, Incognito is still very much busy cooking up new music, touring and boasts collaborations with renowned artists such as Chaka Khan and Stevie Wonder. More importantly, their sound has laid the groundwork for the artists that would eventually emerge from acid jazz such as Jamiroquai and James Taylor Quartet.

When listening to “Parisienne Girl,” the song’s smooth Frenchisms immediately reminded me of St. Germain, the French artist who would put nu jazz, acid jazz’s younger cousin, on the map in the mid-1990s. With the rising success of newer UK jazz collectives such as Ezra Collective and Kokoroko (the latter of which is signed to Gilles Peterson’s label Brownswood Recordings), one can definitely make a case for Incognito having paved the way. As a lover of all things upbeat and jazz, I hope that they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

Check out our full interview with Gilles Peterson.

Watch our video version of this post on YouTube Shorts.