Luciano Nakata Albuquerque, born in Brazil to Spanish/Japanese parents, early on earned the moniker Curumin, a term reserved by indigenous Brazilians for their more precocious children. It was the 1970s in São Paulo, and with his older brother Curumin began his journey through the world's music, from Jorge Ben to Devo to Bebeto. By the time he was 8, he'd already formed his first rock band with classmates, with pots and pans substituting for a proper drum kit. Within two years he'd formed another band, this time an instrumental funk group called ZU. By the time he was 14 he was already a percussionist at Sao Paulo's top clubs. By 16 he'd also taught himself to play keyboards. Later on in his teens, Curumin enrolled at the prestigious music school Gaviões da Fiel, where he was exposed to the 40-year history of MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira), delving deeper into samba during the day, while learning outside school about the B-52s and Run DMC. Curumin and two friends quickly formed Zomba, a band devoted to Brazilian music and classic funk, replete with brass and percussion sections, but accompanied also by a DJ. Zomba were widely praised, spurring a resurgence of interest in the 70s sound in Sao Paulo. Clearly not one to be idle, this multi-tasker was also in a band called Toca with Gustavo Lenza, which would prove to be the blueprint for Achados E Perdidos. While his psychology degree and aspirations towards professional soccer languished, his musical career was growing ever brighter. Support gigs for established names in MPB ensued, such greats as composer Arnaldo Antunes, the samba-punk singer Andrea Marquee, as well as Brazilian hip-hop groups like Lino Crizz & Guetto Jam and SP Funk. It was with these groups that Curumin got his first taste of world touring, blowing away audiences across Latin America and Europe. As Zomba transformed gradually into his own solo project, he reconfigured his now sizable catalog to suit his many disparate interests and experiences, the result of which was his solo debut Achados e Perdidos. Californian hip-hop duo Blackalicious discovered Curumin while touring Brazil. Chief Xcel fell in love with the album, Achados e Perdidos. (initially released on a local label in São Paulo) and it was released worldwide on Quannum Projects in September 2005. Curumin made his debut US performance during CMJ 2005. He continued performing around the states over the next year, including the M3 Conference, the World Music Festival in Chicago and the Quannum Ao Vivo tour with Tommy Guerrero and Honeycut. Curumin’s song “Guerreiro” landed in a Nike ad that premiered during the World Cup, and “Tudo Bem Malandro” is featured on Big Change: Songs for FINCA, compiled by Natalie Portman. Curumin releases his second album, Japan Pop Show, on Quannum Projects in Spring 2008.
http://2008.sxsw.com/music/showcases/band/63959.html
