'Arrocha means to hold on with a lot of
pressure,' Curumin says from his São Paolo home, describing the meaning behind
his new album title. 'In Bahia it's a rhythm, a way of dancing where you hold
your girl very close. That pressure is something we feel here in Sao Paolo. It's
a very big city and you are always surrounded by people. On this album I'm
trying to make more sensual music, speaking with a lot of feeling and getting
closer to people.'
Born of Spanish
and Japanese parents 35 years ago, Luciano Nakata Albuquerque adopted the
persona Curumin (KOO-roo-mean) as a way of exploring the possibilities of
Brazil's many sonic heritages. Known globally as the land of bossa nova and
samba, the youthful vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/producer has borrowed much
from his Brazilian culture but expanded upon it by creating an inviting, sensual
tone while eschewing any lust for stardom through mainstream sounds. On the
pioneering Arrocha (Six Degrees
Records), he has built upon prior success in creating a melodically addicting
and rhythmically potent exploration of modern Brazil.
Discovered by
California hip-hop outfit Blackalicious on a 2005 South American tour, the duo
helped Curumin gain international recognition by releasing his debut, Achados e Perdidos, in the United
States. After successfully launching his presence in the States at CMJ that same
year, he was quickly booked to perform at Chicago's World Music Festival and the
M3 Conference the following year. Natalie Portman included his track 'Tudo Bern
Malandro' on a compilation; when 'Guerreiro' was used in a Nike ad during the
FIFA World Cup, the fame he never sought was ensured.
It was Curumin's
second album, JapanPopShow, that
really launched him in 2008. His unique fusing of samba, reggae, electronica,
funk and hip-hop earned him gigs at Central Park Summerstage, Los Angeles's
Grand Performances, the Montreal Jazz Fest, the Red Hot Rio +2 concert at
Brooklyn's BAM and San Francisco's Stern Grove. He's performed alongside Femi
Kuti, Jorge Ben, Money Mark, Blackalicious and Juana Molina, and earned glowing
accolades from the NY Times, Spin, the Village Voice and Billboard.com.
Part of a wave
of evolutionary Brazilian artists updating their native soundscape, this
self-professed tropicalia and funk addict now delves deeply into the electronic
sound of his MPC to control the direction. 'I created different atmospheres and
textures from doing a lot of research with all of the albums I have here in my
house,' he says. Being that his home would not cater to a full band set-up, Arrocha dives right into the heart of
his intentions: it's a warm, sensitive journey featuring gorgeous melodies
floating over a wash of spacious percussion, guitars and bass, while never
losing the danceable beats that his culture demands.
'The electronic
angle let me work inside of the machines,' he says. 'It's a different way to do
Brazilian music. But it's also part of my Japanese heritage. The thing that I'm
trying to accomplish in my music is connected to the past and tradition, as well
as to the future. This is a very Japanese way of looking at things.'
Kicking it off
with the hard edge of 'Afoxoque,' the word is an amalgam of the Portuguese word
afoxê and the English shock. 'I was
programming the beat and just gave it this name. A few days later I tried to
write lyrics, and I started to research what afoxoque could mean. Afoxê is a word from Yoruba, the African
tradition here in Brazil, and it means 'the power of speech.' So it's the shock
that happens to you from the power of language.'
Not all of the
album depends on metaphysical explanation. In fact, the topics of yearning and
connection, to a soulmate, family member of friend, dominates the content.
'Selvage,' the album's first single and video, is about getting wild. Having
lived in downtown São Paolo for eight years, Curumin felt that past-future
connection, noticing that very evolved people live daily with their primitive
instincts. On 'Selvage' he waxes romantic over the 'jungle' of his former
neighborhood, providing the listener with Arrocha's most upbeat, punchy track.
On 'Paris Vila
Matilde' he tells a story about calling his girlfriend, who comes from the São
Paolo neighborhood of Vila Matilde, while he was in France. This gorgeous
two-minute gem is engulfed by that seductive term, saudade, an indescribable feeling of
desire and aching made globally famous by the poetic hand of Federico García
Lorca. And speaking of poets, 'Pra Nunca Mais' was penned by Arnaldo Antunes,
Brazil's renowned wordsmith and singer.
'It's like
you're waking up and coming out from a dream,' Curumin says of that song. 'But
you don't want to wake up, so you go back to your dreams and begin to float.
Then the things in the dream start to happen again, but then you are waking up
again, but you don't want to.'
Following up on
the many successes he garnered with JapanPopShow, Curumin has produced a
record that's certain to surpass previous praise. Introduced to Six Degrees
Records via his friend (and now labelmate) Céu - who guest stars on the
reggae-inflected 'Vestido de prata' - he's excited to be moving in new musical
directions, blending catchy tracks with an integrity and inventiveness unique
unto himself. For him, this is all he
could imagine himself doing.
'I'm always
trying to be minimal in my music and life, just putting in what's essential and
not too much information,' he concludes, in what is perhaps another quality
pulled from his Japanese ancestry. 'I'm happy that the alternative scene in
Brazil is building. If you just have mainstream music, nothing is creative, and
no one is going to try to do anything strange. Now some people are doing strange
stuff, and some people are listening to strange stuff too. This is very
good.'
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