Birds CD

Long before it became fashionable to blend Brazilian music with elements of contemporary dance music, Da Lata (AKA Chris Franck and long-serving London DJ Patrick Forge) were offering up singles and albums doing just that. They've been rather quiet of late, though, with "Birds" marking their return to action after a six-year break. It's as vibrant, colourful and well produced as you'd expect, with the duo and their assembled musicians blending elements of South American and West African music with jazz, jazz-funk, electronica, soul, nu-jazz, broken beat and ambient. It's a little ray of summer sunshine on a cold, dark autumnal day.