A beautiful UFO in the sky of 1997, Smoke City had an ephemeral career with only two albums. The first, however, was the precursor to a genre of Electro-Brazilian-World fusion, which is still active on the airwaves.
This trio comprising the beautiful Nina Miranda and two musicians from London, Mark Brown and the guitarist Chris Franck, combine Electro and Trip-Hop with the elegance of Bossa. They have a certain gift for the soft and bitter mixes which were innovative at that time. The first single of the album, "Underwater Love" became known internationally as it was used in a Levis ad, directed by Michel Gondry.
If the single monopolizes most of the attention, the album contains numerous little hidden gems, such as "Numbers" a Bossa with hints of Batucada which will overturn the most solid of dancefloors.
A beautiful album from a group who could have become big, but who split up too quickly. The latest news is that Nina is still playing with Chris Franck in a duo called Zeep, who can be found at World Music festivals. We hope to bump into her at a bar sometime.
Smoke City - "Flying Away" (1997, Sony Music)
"Underwater Love""Numbers"
"Mr Gorgeous (And Miss Curvaceous)"
