Chris Franck is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-born English musician, songwriter, record producer, and remixer, best known for his involvement with the bands Batu,

Da Lata Da Lata (meaning "from the tin" in Portuguese) are a British group formed in 1994 by Chris Franck and Patrick Forge. They combine Afro-Brazilian influences with other strands from the melting pot of their native London. Franck and Forge previously ...

Smoke City Smoke City was an English band that blended acid jazz and trip hop, borrowing from Brazilian styles such as samba and bossa nova and some lyrics have excerpts in Portuguese. They are best known for their single " Underwater Love", which was ...

, and Zeep. He is described as a "multi-instrumentalist".

Biography

Franck was born in Germany, and has lived in the UK since the age of six. His father is German, his mother is Dutch.

Career

Franck gained initial success in 1992 in the group Batu, featuring Oli Savill,

Franc O'Shea Franc O'Shea is a bassist born in Swaziland. He has worked with artists including Steve Howe ( Yes), Lisa Moorish, Mike Lindup (Level 42), Bah Samba, members of Jamiroquai and Beverley Martyn. His playing covers a variety of styles including ...

and Tristan Banks, among others. In 1997, the Smoke City single "Underwater Love" debuted on the UK Singles Chart after appearing as part of a

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to o ...

ad campaign in the United Kingdom. The band Zeep is a project created with Nina Miranda, a bandmate from Smoke City. Franck's musical influences include samba, Bossa nova, the music of Africa, folk music, funk, and rock music. Franck co-wrote and produced two albums for Chris Blackwell's "Palm Pictures" label with the band Da Lata. The first album was called ''Songs From the Tin'', and the second was called ''Serious''. He also released an album of remixes under the Da Lata name for Palm Pictures. He co-wrote and produced two albums with the band Smoke City for Jive Records: ''Flying Away'' and ''Heroes of Nature''. Franck collaborated on Ernest Ranglin's album ''Modern Answers to Old Problems'' alongside Tony Allen (musician), Tony Allen, Courtney Pine, and Denys Baptiste. The album was engineered by Jerry Boys and produced by Mark van den Berg and Trevor Wyatt.

References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English multi-instrumentalists English record producers English songwriters Remixers {{UK-musician-stub