Smoke City | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England[1] |
| Genres | Electronic, trip hop[1] |
| Years active | 1996–2002 |
| Labels | Jive Records[1] |
| Members | Nina Miranda[1] Mark Brown[1] Chris Franck[1] |
Smoke City was an English band that blended acid jazz and trip hop, borrowing from Brazilian styles such as samba and bossa nova and some lyrics have excerpts in Portuguese.[2] They are best known for their single "Underwater Love", which was a major hit in 1997, after being used in a Levi's television advertisement, "Mermaids" (directed by Michel Gondry).[2] In 1997, the band released their first album, Flying Away, which included several hits such as "Underwater Love", "Mr. Gorgeous (and Miss Curvaceous)" and "Águas de março (Joga Bossa Mix)".[2] Smoke City's next album, Heroes of Nature, was released in 2001. An extended version of Heroes of Nature had three more tracks than the original, one of them being a cover version of John Lennon's "Imagine".
"Underwater Love" is also a track on the soundtrack for Thicker Than Water, a surf video.
In 1998, the band contributed "O Cara Lindo (Mr. Gorgeous)" to the AIDS benefit compilation album Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon, which was produced by the Red Hot Organization.
The group disbanded in 2002.
Slant Magazine listed their album Flying Away #20 on their list of greatest trip-hop albums of all time.[3]
Members
- Nina Miranda (vocals, fx)
- Mark Brown (programming, turntables, keyboards, percussion, vocals, fx)
- Chris Franck (guitar, keyboards, percussion, bass, vocals)
Discography
Studio albums
- Flying Away (1997)
- Heroes of Nature (2001)
Live albums
- Black Sessions - Smoke City
Singles
- "Underwater Love" (1997) - UK No. 4,[4] AUS No. 41, AUT No. 23, BE-FL No. 42, BE-WA No. 33, GER No. 55, NLD No. 97, NOR No. 18, SWE No. 58, SWI No. 32[5]
- "Mr. Gorgeous (and Miss Curvaceous)" (1997) Italy No. 1
- "Águas de Março" (1998)
- "With You" (1998)
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Smoke City". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 363. ISBN 0-7535-0427-8.
- ^ "The 20 Best Trip-Hop Albums of All Time". Slant Magazine. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 510. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Smoke City - Underwater Love". Charts.nz. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
External links
- Concert photos by Laurent Orseau (Black Session)
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