Smoke City

Smoke City, a British group formed in London in 1994, was composed of Brazilian vocalist Nina Miranda, Mark Brown on percussion, voice, and keyboards, and Chris Franck on guitar and keyboards. The trio initially gained attention with their debut single "Underwater Love" in February 1996, which reached notable chart positions including number 4 in the UK and number 41 in Australia. Their breakthrough came with the release of their album Flying Away in June 1997, featuring the hit single "Mr. Gorgeous (And Miss Curvaceous)". The album's success was bolstered by the inclusion of "Underwater Love" in a Levi Strauss television commercial, further propelling the band into the European music scene. Smoke City's unique blend of bossa nova, house, and electronic music influenced contemporaries such as Portishead and Moloko. Their lyrics, often incorporating elements of Portuguese, explored oniric and surreal themes with occasional erotic undertones. Following Flying Away, Smoke City released several more singles, including "Aguas de Marco (Joga Bossa)" in 1997 and "With You" and "Numbers" in 1998. Their final album before disbanding was Heroes of Nature in August 2001. Despite their success, Smoke City disbanded in 2002. Later on, Nina Miranda formed the bands Arkestra One, Shrift and Zeep with Chris Franck.