Artist:Smoke City
Song:Underwater Love
Album:Flying Away
The trip hop group Smoke City scored a top five hit in England after Underwater Love was used in a 1997 Levi's commercial. It was their only hit and they only recorded two albums. Lead singer Nina Miranda was born in Brazil but she grew up in England. She wanted to form a group with her classmate Marc Brown. They met German born producer Chris Franck and Smoke City was born. They signed with Jive Records and released the 1997 album Flying Away. It was going nowhere when Underwater Love was used in a Levi's commercial. The song reached #4 on the British Singles chart and it charted across Europe. Smoke City was similar to Portishead but with Brazilian influences. One of the samples used was the 1971 Luiz Bonfa song Bahia Soul. Nina had moved back to Brazil when the song became a hit. She had to move back to London so Smoke City could follow it up. They recorded the 2001 album Heroes of Nature. But it looks like Jive wasn't happy with the album. So Franck decided to disband Smoke City. Flying Away is available as a budget CD. Fans of trip hop groups like Portishead should check it out. By the time Smoke City disbanded, Nina and Franck were in a relationship. They have two sons. They formed Zeep in 2007 and released a couple of albums. Since they split up in 2011, Nina has released a couple of solo albums. Here's the video for Underwater Love by Smoke City.
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