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Rating: Flying Away - Dj, please play Smoke City for me
Trip Hop, Bossa Nova, Acid Jazz, English, Portuguese, French, two creative and original musicians, and a passionate and erotic voice.
There are many ingredients that form this colorful musical cocktail, which is the first album by Smoke City (1997 - and unfortunately, this is already half of their discography). The British trio was born from the meeting between DJ Mark Brown (programming, keyboards, percussion, effects, and vocals) and vocalist/composer Nina Miranda, joined by producer/musician Chris Franck (guitars, keyboards, bass, percussion, and vocals).
The varied and unique sound, combined with that jewel which is Miranda's voice (with her Brazilian-English-French origins), creates a truly original and absolutely contagious album. Starting with the first track, the leading single that introduced them to us: Underwater Love. Amidst liquid sounds, light samba mid-tempo percussion, and an ethereal trip-hop atmosphere, Nina enchants us with her seductive siren's voice, describing a love that seeps through the entire body as if made of water: "This must be underwater love, the way I feel it slipping all over me", while the singing alternates between English and Portuguese. Devil Mood is the most 'hardcore' moment: pounding drums for a Hawaiian dance on the slopes of a fiery volcano, while the voice, more lascivious than ever, confesses: "Mon diable, je t'adore" amid squeals and moans of pleasure. The sunny With You takes us to the blue skies of a Caribbean beach, a delicate melody of strings and reggae guitar, a touch of sitar, and a pinch of nostalgia: "With you I was me, and a bit of you too".
Preceded by the tribal and percussive Numbers and the spatial 'interlude n1', there is the mischievous and famous song as much as the single that preceded it, Mr Gorgeous, with its samba mood and the hot chorus "Ay ay ay ay ayayay!". The third single, released only in the UK (just like With You), is the very personal cover of the bossa nova classic Aguas De Março 'd'O Maestro' Antonio Carlos Jobim, a leading composer of Brazilian folklore (I recommend looking for the dreamy Bossa Nova Remix of the track, which is only available on the single). With a more chillout/electronic edge is the danceable semi-instrumental Dark Walk, followed by the folk string song Jamie Pan. Giulietta, a nocturnal ballad for arpeggiated guitar among crickets and the sea's waves, with a sweet voice delicately singing about how Giulietta discovers her body and the Kamasutra: "Love is a religion and your lover is your god". The playful interlude n2 introduces us to the final title track: a pop melody with a layered arrangement of keyboards, flutes, and bells bids us farewell: "Il faut que je part, mon avion va partir... goodbye sweet romance, I am flying away now..."
Who knows if they will return..
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Underwater Love (06:46)
This must be underwater love
The way I feel it slipping all over me
This must be underwater love
The way I feel it
What is this underwater love
Must feel much alike this love
This is it
Underwater love
It is so deep
So beautifully liquid
This love with passion, ai
This love with passion, it's something!
After the rain comes sun
After the sun comes rain again
After the rain comes sun
After the sun comes rain again
This must be underwater love
The way I feel it slipping all over me
This must be underwater love
The way I feel it
What is this underwater love
I know I don't want anything else
Follow me now
To a place you only dream of
Before I came along
When I first saw you
I was deep in clear blue water
The sun was shining
Calling me to come and see you
I touched your soft skin
And you jumped in with your eyes closed
And a smile upon your face
You come, you go
You come and fall
And come along
'Cause I wanna kiss you in your mouth
Crazy stuff!
Come along
'Cause I wanna kiss you in your mouth
What a tasty mouth
After the rain comes sun
After the sun comes rain again
Fall, fall, and everything falls
Everything falls to overthere and here
To overthere and here
And let's swim
Let's swim so everything's possible
This must be underwater love
The way I feel it slipping all over me
This must be underwater love
The way I feel it
Oh oh d'água Underwater
Oh underwater love
This underwater love
This underwater love
Underwater love
04 Numbers (05:34)
Un
Un
Four
Five
Fifteen
Quinze
Seventeen
Seven
Nine
Eight
Sete cinco seis
Sete cinco seis
Trezentos e um
That's three hundred, three hundred and one
Three, three, three hundred and one
Seis e vinte tres
Seis e vinte tres
Six, six and thirty two
Trinta e oito
Thirty eight
Trinta e oito nao me lembro
Twenty seven e' vinte sete, e' vinte sete
Hmm
Four and fourty four
Hum ha, hum ha...
Neuf dix onze douze treize quatorze
Que vem agora?
Quinze
Quinze, ma
Quinze, pa
Nao e' quinze? (quatorze)
Tres
Fourty nine
Isn't it beautiful out here?
Isn't it beautiful out here?
Isn't it beautiful out here?
08 Jamie Pan (03:11)
My friend Jamie pan
Peter pan of the park
With flute he pipes his way
On tree branches he plays
Until it's dark
Jamie Pan
When he gets restless
He jumps above the tree
With a hop skip on the jump
He feels free
Jamie's mat
He's filled with glee
When you move so haphazardly
And our playground so free
Jamie plays, Jamie play, play, play
And he gets faceless
He jumps above up the tree
With a hop skip on the jump
He feels free
Shall we let the state believe
From your book let us take a look
Absurd is (?) a players release
Closer to sky
And he gets restless
He jumps above up the tree
With a hop skip on the jump
He feels free
Free from che guevara
And all the different minds of ?? (?)
Tormented by the walls
How it's so fucked up
And no one gives a damn
No one gives a damn
10 Flying Away (03:48)
Goodbye sweet romance
I am flying away now
Goodbye sweet romance
I am flying away now
To num aviao saindo fora embora
estou num aviao saindo fora pra cima
Estou num aviao saindo fora
Agora vou embora
Esta na hora
Bye bye bye
Je ne sais pas qu'est ce que c'est
Il faut que je parte mon avion va partir
Goodbye sweet romance
I am flying away now
Goodbye sweet romance
I am flying away now
Agora eu vou embora
Esta na hora
Depois de esse tempo todos juntos
Vamos mudar de assunto
Minha outra vida esta me chamando
A eu estou querendo tanto
Por enquanto
Vamos nos separar
E parar e parar
De olhar para tras
Nao importa o que a gente sente
Nos temos que olhara para frente
Nao e'?
Nao e'?
Nao eeee? e' e'
Goodbye sweet romance
I am flying away now
Goodbye sweet romance
I am flying away now
I walk up recalling your name
Goodbye sweet lover
Do you feel the same
Tears out from my eyes
As I fly through the sky
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