Flying Away [Import]

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.

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.