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Fonte:Spin Magazine

Luciano Nakata Albuquerque (a.k.a. Curumin) is the offspring of Japanese and Spanish parents, so it's not surprising that he boasts a wide range of influences. What is surprising, though, is how effortless his second album feels. The woozy, reggaefied title track has the brain-melting charm of a pot-addled jam. Elsewhere, dense funk collides happily with old-fashioned samba and bossa nova; "Kyoto" suggests Caetano Veloso fronting Funkadelic. If "Fumanchu," a throwaway based on a simple electric piano riff, can provide such immense pleasure, there's some sneaky magic in effect.

Jon Young - Spin Magazine - May 29th 2008

Fonte:PopMatters.com

It’s clear at this point that Quannum Projects’ roster is one of the country’s best when it comes to providing diverse and innovative music. From DJ Shadow’s schizophrenic output to the smooth and excessively fun Pigeon John records, every artist has something different to contribute. And Brazil’s Curumin is no different.

Born to Spanish and Japanese parents, Curumin began discovering music from across the globe in the 1970s. His lust for music drew him to playing the pots and pans in his first band at age eight. Six years later, he was providing the beats as a percussionist in clubs in Sao Paulo. He also taught himself how to play keyboards. He continued to learn and grow as a musician in Gaviões da Fiel, a Brazilian music school. In between lessons on the history of popular Brazilian music, or Musica Popular Brasileira, he studied American acts like Run DMC and the B-52s. The multi-instrumentalist joined several bands including Toca and Zomba, with the latter eventually becoming Curumin’s solo project. He then dropped his funky, samba-influenced debut, Achados e Perdidos, in 2005.

Now, it is three years later and Curumin is primed and ready to tackle releasing the dreaded sophomore album. And luckily for him, he has nothing to worry about with JapanPopShow. It’s not likely to catch on with the general public, but those with an ear for eclectic, worldly pop music are in for a treat. He even might catch on with underground hip-hop heads, who will appreciate his DJ Shadow-esque “Salto No Vacuo Com Joelhada”. Additionally, labelmates Lateef the Truth Speaker and Blackalicious’ Gift of Gab stop by on “Kyoto” to increase Curumin’s appeal.

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Source:Prefixmag.com

I suppose there was a time when it made sense to describe a band or artist as "sounding like (fill-in-the-blank)." Although it was not entirely accurate, you could generalize Led Zeppelin's sound as a mix of Howlin' Wolf and the Stones. Or, you could conceivably say the Ramones were the point between Phil Spector and the Sex Pistols. However, when the likening takes the shape of "Jorge Ben/Caetano Veloso hybrid playing Funkadelic's "Can You Get to That" backwards (or maybe diagonally)," I'm not sure how much more use the comparison game has. Especially today, what makes "genre-bending" artists like M.I.A. and Santogold so much fun is how they pull seemingly incompatible or unrelated sounds together into something tangible and accessible. So, why is it so hard to market Curumin, the Japanese-Brazilian songwriter on Quannum Records who writes songs mostly in Portuguese about girls, records, and politics? Beats the hell out of me.

Dan Nishimoto - Prefixmag.com - May 6th 2008

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Source: pitchforkmedia.com

Source: Spin Magazine