Da Lata

Born in London in 1994 around Chris Franck and Patrick Forge, Da Lata develops a studio project that crosses Afro-Brazilian influences, broken beat, house, jazz-dance and African music in a writing that leans toward songcraft as much as toward the club. Emerging from a shared path within Batu, the two musicians build with Da Lata a sound where percussion, bass lines and acoustic arrangements dialogue with a flexible electronic production, not bound to a single register. The project first drew attention with 'Ponteio', a reading of Edu Lobo, after an initial spell under the name Trio Da Lata, and takes on another dimension when Chris Franck continues in parallel his work with Smoke City. Signed to Palm Pictures, Da Lata released Songs from the Tin in 2000, followed by Serious in 2003, two albums that broaden their Brazilian base toward a wider fusion of MPB, Afrobeat, soul and dance music. The duo also produced a set of remixes for other artists before a quieter period, then returned with Fabiola in 2013 on Agogo Records. Along this path, Da Lata has become part of a London scene open to circulations between club culture, cross-cultural music and songwriting.