George HaffendenCurrent lead singer of the iconic Brit-Funk band Incognito is branching out on his own with the release of his latest single ‘Pick Me Up’.
One of the hottest names on the British soul scene at the moment is none other than Tony Momrelle, an outstanding vocalist who is most known for his recording and touring with the group Incognito, appearing on their Amplified Soul album as well as their 35th Anniversary Live album released this year. He has also released a few other singles under his own name, including the excellent Fly EP released in 2013. The single was released earlier this week and is taken from his forthcoming album Keep Pushing which is slated for release later on this month on Reel People Music.
‘Pick Me Up’ is a perfect, radio-friendly piece of pop-soul. The song itself is a catchy ditty with a great arrangement, with Momrelle combining the Incognito sound, particularly the horns, with his own approach. Vocally Momrelle impresses, but to fans that have followed both his solo work and his work with Incognito over the past few years, this is hardily surprising. ‘Pick Me Up’ is a good choice to be the lead single from the forthcoming album, and is already garnering much attention on the soul scene.
Although released digitally, ‘Pick Me Up’ is ‘backed’ by a brilliant cover of the Donny Hathaway/Roberta Flack classic ‘Back Together Again’; here Chicago’s Chantae Caan provides the female vocal. Admittedly, we were a little sceptical about how good this song could be. After all, in terms of artistry you rarely can get better than Donny Hathaway or Roberta Flack. We’re glad to report that our initial scepticism was misplaced, as both Momrelle and Caan impress on this version of the song, making the sensible decision to update the song rather than merely recreating the original version. The two are a good match vocally, both have similar a smooth neo-soul quality to their voices, and importantly neither attempts to overpower the other. Included in the single release are several remixes of the song: the Richard Earnshaw Mix gives it a house spin, whilst the Opolopo Mix gives it a dance makeover. Neither remix does it for us; the original is fine as it is.
Nonetheless, this is a tasty insight into what Momrelle has in store for us with his new album. And we eagerly await what soulful goodness he has in store for us later on this month.
Tony Momrelle’s single release is available to download on iTunes, his forthcoming album Keep On Pushing is available to preorder on Amazon. More information can be found on his website.