Seu Jorge isn’t a household name, but anyone who has watched “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” has heard his music. He played that soundtrack's haunting Brazilian versions of David Bowie classics such as "Life on Mars."

Jorge found a unique way to make those songs sound warm and alien at the same time. The strange, breezy charm continues on his new album, Cru.

The title translates as "raw." This seems fitting since much of Jorge's music is a stripped-down union of acoustic guitar, percussion and vocals. He adds rich texture to this simple structure by incorporating bass and synthesizers into several songs.

Jorge was raised in the slums outside of Rio tie Janeiro, and the CD is performed almost entirely in his native tongue. Regardless of the language, his voice is the star. Raw yet refined, it sways gently between an almost feminine raspy whisper and a masculine croon, hut it never drifts into self-indulgent vocal acrobatics.

The majority of Cru is straightforward acoustic fare that is reminiscent of the breathy vocals and sultry bossa nova of '60s lounge-guitar icon Jobim's "Girl from Ipanema.”

"Mania de Peitao {Big, Chested Mania)" is a lively number rallying against breast implants - fitting since Brazil is largely considered the plastic surgery capita! of the world.

Driven by dark drum-and-bass dance beats and eerie backing vocals, Jorge's cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "Chatterton" is as weird and interesting as anything on the latest Gorillaz CD. Deceptively danceable, the song is actually a list of people who have committed suicide - including Cleopatra, Vincent van Gogh and Kurt Cobain.

Getting back to Jorge's gentle side, "Flore de la Citta" and "Sao Gonca" call to itund the minimalist melancholy of Nick Drake. The acoustic guitar chirps a few solemn notes as Jorge's voice flirts softly with its high register.

The only song on Cru that is performed in English, Leiber and Stoller's "Don't” was originally made popular by Elvis Presley. "If you think 1 don't mean/ Every word I say/ Don't feel that way," Jorge sings.

So simple and poignant, Jorge has a knack for stripping songs down to their very essence.
 
Seu Jorge plays the Wexner Center's Black Box on the Mershon Stage, 1871 N. High St., Saturday wth Celso Fonseca. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15, $13 for students. 292-3535 or 431-3600.