Georg Levin- Jazzanova's (German) Funk Soul Brother

Despite being a white German Berlin based singer/songwriter who looks to England as his central source of inspiration, Georg Levin makes funky, dirty, goovy soul, a specialisation he's the first to admit seems odd.

"I don't want to become a white artist trying to be black but my music is still rooted in black music," he says.

"But I don't see myself as a pop musician, either, I'm a songwriter who likes soul music."

Coming up the hard way via productions jobs for such companies as MTV London, he eventually hooked up with leftfield arbiters of taste Jazzanova, who both signed him to their label Sonar Kolletiv and helped him produce his debut album Can't Hold Back. Curiously reminiscent of Earth Wind & Fire during their 70s funk-soul disco heyday, the album is both fresh and accomplished, reflecting his own perfectionism as much as Jazzanova's.

"I wanted to do something different with my own style," he told Jonty Skrufff.

"Basically I wanted to make a soul record but one with all the influences of the music that I like. When I was kid I used to listen to rock music and I think I used a rock approach with some of the lyrics and tools than you'd usually find on a soul record. My plan was to make an attempt to be recognised as a singer/song-writer kind of person."


Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): The very first line on your press release talks of 'striving to achieve what's revolutionary', did you set out with such a strong idea-

Georg Levin: "That is a strong idea, I didn't actually write that biog, it was a journalist from Munich, I think he was being rather poetic, I don't think I used the term 'revolutionary'."

Skrufff: Most singer/ song-writers are rooted in pop music ('yes' GL), are you thinking of the album as a pop record-

Georg Levin: "No, not at all. Pop is a difficult term to define. Obviously almost all music that has drums in it today is pop music in some way, but I don't see myself as a pop musician, I'm a songwriter who likes soul music. I write most of the songs and play most of the instruments and I deliberately haven't tried to bring in other singers who might sing better than I do, because they wouldn't have a closer relationship to the songs than I do. I miss that a lot in house and soul music today, you can tell that most of the singers have just walked into the studio and some producer has played them a track and said 'write some lyrics and sing over it', whatever comes into their mind. Sometimes that's an interesting method but usually it means the vocals are very standardised."

Skrufff: Your key influences are Prince, Marvin Gaye and Earth, Wind & Fire, do you regard those artists as being soul in the same way as today's R&B-

Georg Levin: "Yeah, of course, but my 70s records are still my all time favourite records, they're a part of my life."

Skrufff: All the artists you've name-checked are American, do you look to America for inspiration-

Georg Levin: "Actually no, if anything I've always looked more towards England. I was very much into British music in the early 90s. By the end of the 80s I was very frustrated with the direction soul music had taken, both from America and England. But then when the new soul and a acid jazz scene took off in Britain in the early 90s I was very inspired and became very British orientated. That was another reason why I came to London to study."

Skrufff: When exactly did you move to London-

Georg Levin: "I was there between 1994 and 98 then also for six months last year. I studied Communications at Goldsmiths College then I worked for MTV as a researcher. Then when I returned to Germany I worked for an advertising/ film company as a production assistant."

Skrufff: What stopped you from staying in London and pursuing your music career here, was that an option-

Georg Levin: "Not really, I'm very much a latecomer to making music, I'm already 30 now. I was composing music while I was stu Tags