"In 1990 Dave 'Man' Mcsherry and Steve Cobby began to record as Fila Brazillia. Hitherto their collaborations had been infrequent and ultra-spontaneous. Both had maintained positions in conventional bands but needed to trade the constraints of the "write - rehearse - gig - record" treadmill for a more fluent, and ultimately enjoyable approach. A nursery period for a music culled from sonic experiments and ideas quickly put to tape emerged. A treatment of all sounds as "objet trouvé" and a hobbyist attitude prevailed.
When Dave Brennand a.k.a. Porky heard a piece composed on a wet Wednesday, he asked to release it. They happily agreed. As previous unreleased work hadn't warranted anything but comedy monickers - "Dada Black Sheep" being one - a name was needed. At that time the media's "killer dog frenzy" was in full swing and a breed known as the fila brasiliero was the subject of a debate in the Commons. This was misheard on the radio by Steve, proposed and accepted for the single and eventually the name stuck. The track "Mermaids", was Fila Brazillia's first single, released in Spring 1991, and marked the beginning of a decade which saw Fila yield seven highly acclaimed albums and a skip-full of singles on Pork Recordings and over 60 remixes."
Hull-based duo Fila Brazillia are the most popular and acclaimed of the noted Pork Recordings stable. Formed in 1991 by producers Steve Cobby and Dave McSherry, Fila followed Cobby's association with Ashley & Jackson, a moderately successful pop/dance group signed to Big Life! which went belly up as the label began demanding more and more pop and less dance. Returning to his native Hull from Manchester, Cobby met DJ/dabbler Dave Pork, and the two forged a creative alliance which continues to this day. Hooking up with McSherry to form Fila, the group's first 12-inch, "The Mermaid," was released that same year on Pork's fledgling imprint (formed, actually, specifically for the occasion), gaining instant acclaim among DJs and headphonauts alike for its innovative fusion of funk, dub, house, hip-hop, and acid jazz. The group followed their debut single with a string of full-length releases (Old Codes, New Chaos, Maim That Tune and Black Market Gardening among them) which were instrumental in building Pork's reputation as one of the most consistent and respected of England's vast ocean of underground breakbeat/trip-hop labels. More recent releases have integrated elements of pop and drum'n'bass on a number of tracks. Fila's rep has also translated into a number of acclaimed remixes, including Lamb's "Cotton Wool," the Orb's "Toxygene," and DJ Food's "Freedom" (over a dozen of which were featured on a 2000 collection Brazilification.) The mix album Another Late Night appeared in 2001, and the studio effort Jump Leads appeared early the following year. After two years of recording inactivity, in 2004 the duo released a pair of production albums (The Life and Times of Phoebus Brumal and Dicks), plus another mix album (Another Fine Mess). In addition to Fila, Cobby is also an active member of other Pork stable acts such as Solid Doctor (his solo guise) and Heights of Abraham, both of which have released a number of full-length recordings. ~ Sean Cooper, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)
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