Curumin

Luciano “Curumin” Albuquerque was born in Brazil to Spanish and Japanese parents. At first listen, his music might remind American listeners of artists like Beck – with his soul inflected singing, tropical-funk beats, and playful electronic instrumentation.

While a short listen will tell you that Curumin, a Brazilian nickname meaning precocious child, is a thoroughly modern artist, he is also drawing on the rich heritage of MPB, or Musica Popular Brasileira. In the Sao Paulo of the 1970’s Curumin was exposed to artists like Tim Maia and Bebeto who combined elements of American soul into the samba music of Brazil.

Most prominent among these MPB artists was Jorge Ben, whose brilliant alchemy of Brazilian bossa nova, afro-pop and American funk is a clear predecessor to the multi-faceted work of artists like Curumin. In 2005, Curumin released his debut album, Achados E Perdidos, Portuguese for “Lost and Found”.
Latest CD: “Achados E Perdidos”(2005 Quannum Projects)

Feature first aired on 12/2/06
Song clips: “Vem Menina”, “You Haven’t Done Nothing”, “Guerreiro”, “Samba Japa”