Source: Pop Syndicate

Mover and shakers from Sao Paulo.

Another Brazilian wonder! This is a WOW album for dancing or getting work done around the house.

When I picked up this CD to play, I had no idea what a Brazilian group would be playing that would pique my interest. I guess I expected Ipenema music but it didn’t take me long to find out the truth when I heard the first track on this 4-song album that also includes a video. The track has a great dance beat and segues into track two so the dancing can continue. The duo is composed of Mylene who does all the vocals and Erico Theoboldo who plays all the instruments (drums, electric piano and acoustics). The guitars are played by Marcel Dadalto.

Much to my surprise, the group does quite well with vocals and instrumentals. The beat is consistent on all four tracks and leads the way for the music to follow. I can just imagine how crowded the dancefloor would be with this music pumping in the background. The music is a mixture of trance and electronica as well as “jungle music” and isn’t unpleasing to the ear.

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From: Sultan Peppa's Pawn Shop

"Sometimes, you find really original music that crosses the boundaries, and paves the way for new trends. I think that Telepathique's debut album, Last Time On Earth, is one of those ground-breaking albums. And I'm not the only one that thinks so."

FULL REVIEW

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

Editing by Dunia...

"In the Sixties there was tropicalismo: now, the current Brazilian musical fashion is for topilectro, a blend of synthesised samba variants hailing from São Paulo, whose most prominent practitioner is Maria do Ceu Whitaker Poças, or CéU (sky or heaven). CéU has the seductive, sun kissed croon of a latterday Astrud Gilberto, but couched in a musical esperanto that draws on dub reggae, samba, scratching hip-hop, jazz piano and various native Brazilian guitar modes. Producer Beto Villares creates a series of light, springy grooves which developp momentum over the course of five minute. CéU's plaintive voice is well-suited to a cover of marley's "Concrete Jungle" realised as an acoustic samba-reggae groove percolated with odd gurgling noises, while elsewhere "Ave Cruz" is a tropilectro take on hip hop."

Source: The Guardian

From the bossa nova to tropicália, samba-reggae to the Axe carnival music of Salvador, much of the greatest contemporary Brazilian music has been created by the fusion of local rhythms with outside influences, from jazz to rock and hip-hop.

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Beto Villares debut album "Excelentes Lugares Bonitos", first issued in Brazil by Ambulante Discos, will be released world wilde by Urban Jungle/Ambulante Discos with Six Degrees Records very soon. The album will simply be called "Beto Villares". We will keep you up to date.

Source: The Guardian

Brazilian music has a new ambassador. This eponymous debut from the 23-year-old songstress - her name means 'Sky' - has already made waves in the US, and promises to emulate the crossover success of Bebel Gilberto.

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Love me sexy...

Source: popmatters.com

"In just the three original cuts that make up Télépathique’s Love and Lust EP, we are treated to an indie fusion of Goldfrapp synth pop, Kompakt house, and a little taste of drum and bass"

Télépathique will be represented in North America by the booking agency Agency Group. The band will perform for the first time in the US in August.

Source: BBB Chicken Robot

Source: pitchforkmedia.com

Source: Sunday Times

Classy, very classy....

Source: Spin Magazine

Source: Pitchfork