as I look south
Brazil continues to drag me through a slow fall. More from Senor Coconut's latest Latin/South American survey later this week, but on this Wednesday, here's Curumin. The kid is a walking melting pot, and music is the stock for his unique brew. Born as a Japanese/Spanish kid in Sao Paulo, he got his musical bearings early and has clearly been devouring musical influences en route to his first full length LP, Achados e Perdidos, first released on a Brazilian label, and now picked up in the US by Quannum Projects, after Blackalicious' Chief Xcel discovered him on tour in Brazil.
The album puts you in the wayback machine with a pile of current musical toys, and lands you in the funk-era in South America, with nothing but the local sounds to build on and plenty of modern gadgetry to do it with. The 70's style, easy-going samba funk is wonderfully uplifting, but is made much more contemporary by the skratches, gritty electric keys and basslines, and a sound that clearly understands the important developments between that era and this one. The entire album has a light, soulful pop to it, and is (thank god) nothing like anything floating around the indie or mainstream charts on these shores.
You can order the CD from [The Giant Peach], or download it [via iTunes].