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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The band Zeep is a project created with

Nina Miranda Nina Miranda is a Brazilian-born English singer and songwriter who was a member of English bands Smoke City, Shrift and Zeep. Life and career Miranda was born in Brasília, Distrito Federal. Her mother is the English Liz Thompson-Miranda; ...

, a bandmate from Smoke City. Franck's musical influences include

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havi ...

Bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

, the

music of Africa Given the vastness of the African continent, its music is diverse, with regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres amapiano, Jùjú, Fuji, Afrobeat, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, and other ...

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

, funk, and

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...

. 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 Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, ...

: ''Flying Away'' and ''Heroes of Nature''. Franck collaborated on

Ernest Ranglin Ernest Ranglin (born 19 June 1932) is a Jamaican guitarist and composer who established his career while working as a session guitarist and music director for various Jamaican record labels including Studio One and Island Records. Ranglin pla ...

's album ''Modern Answers to Old Problems'' alongside Tony Allen,

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

, and

Denys Baptiste Denys Baptiste (born 1969) is an English jazz musician from London, England, where he was born to St Lucian parents. A graduate of Tomorrow's Warriors, Baptiste plays tenor and soprano saxophone in addition to composing. Baptiste played with ...

. The album was engineered by Jerry Boys and produced by Mark van den Berg and

Trevor Wyatt Trevor Wyatt is a British record company manager and record producer. Wyatt was Chris Blackwell's first employee at Island Records London. Trevor drove the Island cab, delivering records to the stores as well as taking the artists around when the ...

References

External links

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