‘Fabiola’ started taking shape in 2010 after Patrick Forge returned to London from living in Japan. He met up with Chris Franck and they took the first tentative steps towards making a new record. Drawing together a worldwide family of collaborators both old and new, they embarked upon a new era of Da Lata. ‘Fabiola’ their first tentative steps towards writing new material. Drawing together a worldwide family of collaborators both old and new, they embarked upon a “new era” of Da Lata. ‘Fabiola’ their first album in ten years, features a host of talent including singer and guitarist Luiz Gabriel Lopes from tropicalia band Graveola (Brazil), Mayra Andrade (Cape Verde), Miguel Atwood Ferguson (USA), spoken word and rap from Philly’s finest – Rich Medina (USA) Marcelo Janeci (Brazil) Luisa Maita (Brazil), Fabricio FBC (Brazil), Sacha Gabriel (Canada), Jason Yarde (UK), Finn Peters (UK) and Diabel Cissokho (Mali) who have all helped craft a record with a raw and live approach fusing Afro-Brazilian influences with a dance-floor sensibility.
The big question is, can their album be categorised as solely ‘World Music?’ Or has the world become too small a place for such divisions? Ultimately, it’s the melting pot of London that really lies at the heart of ‘Fabiola’, a city where cultures and taste continually collide. ‘Fabiola’ is not bound by any set of rules, for all its authenticity in the musicianship and grooves, the tunes themselves seek out new territory beyond glib categorisation. The new album is characterised by Da Lata’s new “organic edge”, dispensing with programming and electronic production, ‘Fabiola’s’ emphasis is definitely on the “real” in every sense. Written exclusively by Chris Franck and the various collaborators; Franck, Forge and super engineer Toni Econimides are the team that have crafted ‘Fabiola’ into Da Lata’s most mature and accomplished album yet.
In essence it’s been 20 years since Franck and Forge first came together and began experimenting and redefining Brazilian music. The duo have had major international success both in bands (Smoke City, Zeep and Da Lata) and for Patrick as a respected DJ who was a pioneer for Brazilian music with UK station Kiss FM in the early 90s.
Famed for melding elements of Brazilian and African styles with everything from folk, rock and psychedelia to spoken word, soul and dub, they’ve made a permanent mark in their respective scenes, bringing down the divide between ‘world’ and ‘electronic’ music – both can be charged with popularizing Brazilian music on an international stage.
Over the course of their 20 year careers they have worked alongside and collaborated with Palm Pictures label mates Femi Kuti, Sly and Robbie, Ernest Ranglin, Baaba Maal, and Bebel Gilberto. They’ve played some of the biggest stages around the world including Roskillde, Coachella, Glastonbury, North Sea Jazz, Womad and Summer Stage New York. Additionally during the 2012 Olympics, while the album was still in progress, Da Lata came together with a new line-up to perform at Gilles Peterson’s and Patrick’s Another Sunday Afternoon At Dingwalls and the Casa Brasil sessions at Somerset House to high praise.
With a mighty cast of remixers set to re-interpret ‘Fabiola’ and their first single ‘Um Amor A Mais’, a rugged organic afro-electro number set for a late summer release, Da Lata are about to start a new chapter in their memorable story. 20 years of Afro-Brazilian adventure and its definitely not over yet…
