Customer Reviews

Flying Away

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this group - they're one of my all time favorites. This particular album was released in 97' but has since then been re-released in 2001 in the US as well as Europe again. Smoke City had ben gaining a strong cult following since "Underwater Love" and the musicians in this group are exceptional - from Nina Miranda to Christian Franck to Marc Brown. Nina Miranda has done work with many other artists on their albums - from Bebel Gilberto to Compost's artists. Christian Franck is also featured with the group "Da Lata" adn Marc Brown, well, is all over the music scene.

I highly recommend this cd. It's very original, Nina Miranda has a very charming voice, the instrumentation is great and they really are a talented group. I liked every track. PICK IT UP. And if you really like this album, check out Da Lata's album and of cours, Smoke City's newest album, "Heroes of Nature". I don't think it's as strong as this one, but it's still very good. My favorite tracks on this one are "Joga Bossa, With You, Jamie Pan, Numbers and Underwater Love". But all tracks are fantastic, again.

FYI: They've appeared in TONS of compilations... especially chillout ones (Ministry, Chillout Room, etc.). Some that may have slipped through the cracks though: Brasil 2Mil (great comp), Ondha Sonora - Red Hot + Lisbon, Red Hot + Gershwin.

British band Smoke City debuted with "Flying Away," a lush trip-hop album with some hints of sultry South American music woven in there. Imagine Portishead doing bossa nova and samba, and you'll have some idea of what "Flying Away" is made up of.

Starting off with the fluidly sensuous "Underwater Love," the album jolts into the smoky, thumping "Devil Mood," sexy ballads (the slow "With You," the gentle "Giulietta), shimmery Latin music ("Numbers," the pleasant "Aguas De Marco"), and opulent trip-hop ("Dark Walk") before wrapping up with the sweet title track.

"Flying Away" is one of those albums that you just can't pin a label on. To call it one thing -- Latin music, trip-hop, jazz -- would be to leave out everything else this album is. Instead it's a seamless blend of all three, mixed in with some odd sound effects and beautiful vocals.

Smoke City's instrumentation is a weird combination of the electronica and organic: we've got beeps, blips and bloops mixed in with an acoustic guitar. And thrown in are heartbeats, crickets, muffled muttering, maracas and some heavy ringing percussion. The lyrics seem simple, but come across as far more than they are ("With you I felt love/With you I felt pain/With you I was me/And a bit of you too").

Vocalist Nina Miranda's sweet vocals are what makes this album so memorable. She croons in Portuguese, French and English, managing a sultry croon one moment and wistful ethereality the next. Not to mention some ad libs of her own, like the high-pitched yelps of "Devil Mood," her mumbled mutterings, or the quizzical "The body? Yes, the body!" comment.

The sensual sounds of Smoke City are at their best in "Flying Away," full of fire and water and wind. This textured collection of brilliant trip-hop is a must-have for music fans.

I first heard this album in a cafe in Paris in July 1999 and subsequently became obsessed with owning it. Having listened to it constantly for almost two years, I think I can safely say that this is NOT a record you get sick of a few weeks after purchase. Every note is pure magic. Nina Miranda (lead vocalist) is an absolute goddess, and for those out there who can't get enough of her sultry voice, I suggest you check out her VERY sexy duet with Bebel Gilberto on Bebel's album 'Tanto Tempo'. If there was only one album left to listen to, for me it would have to be 'Flying Away' - the album's dreaminess, sexiness, jazzyness, trip-hoppiness, funkiness and sassy humour can suit any mood. I urge you fervently - go flying away with Smoke City.

I first encountered Smoke City when I heard their "Underwater Love" track on a chill compilation. (This excellent song has been included on more than one collection.) I don't like to think that I'm easily impressed, but I was really blown away by this number with its sulty Latin-tinged female vocals, odd blips and bleeps and dolphin calls, and superior production values. So I finally ponied up to buy their whole album.

I don't know what I expected, but this wasn't it. At first, I hated it and thought I'd made a colossal mistake. But it's really grown on me after repeated playings. I was expecting more songs along the lines of "Underwater Love", but Smoke City likes to play around with different tempos and sounds and beats, so I ended up getting a bit of variety.

The members of Smoke City, who collaborate in writing the music and lyrics, are Marc Brown, Chris Franck, and Nina Miranda, the vocalist. (Ms. Miranda also provided the illustrations for the liner notes.) Evidently they're influenced by the Brazilian music traditions. For instance, they cover the classic bossa nova tune "Aguas de Marco" ("The Waters of March") and give it a nimble and quirky update. And their own tunes borrow a little bit from samba and other genres as well, but filtered for today's tastes--no space age bachelor pad stuff here.

Ms. Miranda makes a huge impact, plunging in without fear and becoming a one-woman sound effects company. She's sexy and funny. Her vocal talents are best displayed in the slower number "Giulietta", a song anchored by a simple Spanish guitar line and ornamented with heartbeats and the sounds of crickets. Here she sings "And the place to confront with passion is the body", and then interrupts herself to ask perplexedly, "The body?", and proceeds to reassure herself, "Yes, the body." Later she notes "There are different kinds of fights/Dog fights--woof!/Playful fights...mrrow". Obviously, it's better heard then read, because only her sensual voice can do it justice.

So if you've run across "Underwater Love" on one anthology or another and you've been wondering if these guys are any good, take this album out for a spin. It may take some getting used to, but it's definitely an interesting and rewarding work by a talented group.

After seeing their 'Underwater Love' video on AMP in '97 (which I taped by pure accident), I'd been harrassing every record store clerk in town & even written threat notes to distributors: I was gonna OWN this goddamn cd, no matter what I had to do. (That was, of course, before I heard of N*pster)

'Flying Away' is absolutely genius. Especially dig her vocals on 'Devil Mood.' It has spacey, relaxing rhythms overall, but that doesn't make it (anything) 'trip-hop.' Their new single is called 'Jug,' which has been released only on 12". Request it! Get them more air-play! Spread your good taste!

This is one of those rare gems that never really caught on. Which is fine by me and just might be this cd's saving grace. The band didn't pander to a broader audience and created music that's hard to lable or pidgeonhole. Or maybe that's the very reason why it didn't gain mass appeal. Either way, what's nice about this cd is that it crosses and blends genres--from bossa nova and samba to jazz and trip hop--quite effortlessly, and manages to do so without being all over the place. The result is a unique sound that is all their own. That's why I have to disagree with an earlier review comparing this to Mono's "Formica Blues." They couldn't be more different. "Formica Blues" is more grounded in electronica and trip hop. "Flying Away" is more textured and harder to pin down...a bit more original. Each is very good in its own right and I would recommend both. It's just that "Flying Away" is one of those cds that leaves you groping around in record bins searching for something comparable, only to come up short.

I fell in love with the song "Underwater Love" on the Ultimate Chillout CD Collection, but had not heard anything else by Smoke City until I recently purchased this CD. I am so glad that I finally screwed up the courage to pick this up. While I am not as completely blown away by this as some of the other reviewers here are, I am still quite impressed.

The entire album is incredible and all of the songs are just as fabulous as "Underwater Love", some even better I dare say. Sexy, smoky, sophisticated, and completely lounge-worthy. The vocals are incredible, and are delivered in a multiple of languages.

So go ahead, don't be afraid to take a chance on this. I would be hard-pressed to imagine any fan of trip-hop, bossa nova, or downtempo lounge disliking this unique little number, which is a perfect marriage of all three genres.

British band Smoke City debuted with "Flying Away," a lush trip-hop album with some hints of sultry South American music woven in there. Imagine Portishead doing bossa nova and samba, and you'll have some idea of what "Flying Away" is made up of.

Starting off with the fluidly sensuous "Underwater Love," the album jolts into the smoky, thumping "Devil Mood," sexy ballads (the slow "With You," the gentle kama-sutra-themed "Giulietta), shimmery Latin music ("Numbers," the pleasant "Aguas De Marco"), and opulent trip-hop ("Dark Walk") before wrapping up with the sweet title track.

"Flying Away" is one of those albums that you just can't pin a label on. To call it one thing -- Latin music, trip-hop, jazz -- would be to leave out everything else this album is. Instead it's a seamless blend of all three, mixed in with some odd sound effects and beautiful vocals.

Smoke City's instrumentation is a weird combination of the electronica and organic: we've got beeps, blips and bloops mixed in with an acoustic guitar. And thrown in are heartbeats, crickets, muffled muttering, maracas and some heavy ringing percussion. The lyrics seem simple, but come across as far more than they are ("With you I felt love/With you I felt pain/With you I was me/And a bit of you too").

Vocalist Nina Miranda's sweet vocals are what makes this album so memorable. She croons in Portuguese, French and English, managing a sultry croon one moment and wistful ethereality the next. Not to mention some ad libs of her own, like the high-pitched yelps of "Devil Mood," her mumbled mutterings, or the quizzical "The body? Yes, the body!" comment.

The sensual sounds of Smoke City are at their best in "Flying Away," full of fire and water and wind. This textured collection of brilliant trip-hop is a must-have for music fans.

Smoke city combines a bit of basso nova, a bit of samba, a sexy vocalist and electronic augmentation the way it's supposed to be used. The result is a sound with great musical depth. The songs range from a quiet beautiful basso nova, to harder electronic bordering on industrial. Why they are virtually unknown is a complete mystery to me.

A friend sent me this album recently, and I just listened to it today, and I am absolutely floored. This is one of the [most sensual] albums I've ever heard. I've had it on repeat since I woke up five hours ago. It's rhythmic, melodic, textured, [...], sensual, HOT, jazzy, fiery, and completely irresistible. 5 stars ALL the way.