Curumin is the stage name of Brazilian musician Luciano Nakata Albuquerque, who began his musical journey very early in life and had absorbed a wide variety of influences by the time he was a teenager, at which point he formed and played in a series of funk bands while learning about popular Brazilian music in school. His years of listening and gigging finally resulted in this very impressive album, which brings together elements of samba, funk, hip-hop, reggae, and 1970s synthesizer kitsch to often brilliant effect. That's "often," not "always," and there are one or two moments here (such as a pedestrian version of the
Stevie Wonder protest song "You Haven't Done Nothing") that fall flat. But those are greatly outnumbered by such transcendent achievements as the gutbucket Latin funk and frantic turntablism of "Cade o Mocoto? (Essa Coisa)" and the faintly glitchy and reggae-tinged "Vem Menina," which features spectacular Portuguese rapping by Lino Crizz. Also worth noting are the dubwise trip-hop of "Acorda, Simpatico" and a strange but cool funk workout titled "Tudo Bem Malandro." Highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson