Adrian Quesada and Eric Burton, from Black Pumas, arrive at the Grammys with fusion of rock and soul

Nashville, Tennessee – When Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada started playing together in a studio in Austin in 2017, they had just met and it never even occurred to them that they would get to play live.

“We weren’t really a band. We were a studio project, “said Quesada, a Grammy-winning guitarist and producer who had honed his skills over the years in half a dozen bands.

“I knew it was going to be something lovely and very beautiful between us,” said Burton, who sings, writes and plays guitar. “I don’t think we could have predicted that we would end up playing (President Joe Biden’s) inauguration and being nominated for four Grammys.”

But creativity was unleashed in Quesada’s analog studio and his cross-cultural fusion of retro and modern music, psychedelic rock and soul gave rise to Black Pumas, an initially unnoticed project that in just a few years became a sensation.

After debuting with a self-titled album in 2019, the duo received their first Grammy nomination – for best new artist – last year (the award went to Billie Eilish, the big winner of the night). Now they are back with three nominations including album of the year, record of the year and best performance of American roots.

Quesada, 43, is used to being asked about his band’s “immediate” success, but back-to-back Grammy nominations in major categories make him think of all the hard work the two did long before they met.

“It is definitely sobering. Sometimes I have to remind myself how many ups and downs I went through, how many ups and downs Eric went through, “said Quesada, who has two decades of musical experience and who at times had to work sideways as a pizza delivery man to support his family.

Burton, 30, grew up in the San Fernando Valley singing in a church before moving on to do musical theater. He was playing at the Santa Monica Harbor to raise some money before moving to Austin, where he sang at the corner of 6th Street and Congress Avenue.

Quesada is a man of crowds: He was part of the Grammy-winning Latin funk band Grupo Fantasma and also played with Prince’s group and in bands like Brownout and Echocentrics. Prior to Black Pumas, he produced a Chicano-Tejano soul album in 2019 that shed new light on the contributions of Latino artists and musicians.

“It’s like this perfect intersection of black, brown, white, all kinds of different people,” he said of soul music. “What I love is that it is actually the most inclusive.”

Black Pumas were playing in Europe when the pandemic paralyzed all touring, so they did what seemed natural to them: go back to the studio and record new songs and live versions for a deluxe edition of their first album, with wonderful covers of “Eleanor Rigby ”by the Beatles and“ Fast Car ”by Tracy Chapman.

Their song “Colors” has reached No. 1 on Triple A radio stations and has featured on the Top 40 and rock stations, even though they are not as popular as platinum certified artists DaBaby, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish and Post Malone.

But the boost they received gave them the opportunity to perform the uplifting anthem as part of Biden’s inauguration ceremony on the television special that aired that night.

The duo don’t fit easily into specific genres: Their songs are inspired by 1960s-era gospel, funk, and rock, but rooted in a modern percussion rhythm. Laureates of the Emerging Artist award at the Americana Honors and Awards, they let their record label decide which categories to apply for.

“One thing we have in common is that we didn’t want to be just a soul band,” said Quesada, who noted that both are heavily influenced by hip hop rhythms as well.

Burton said their first album together felt like a handshake and that now that they are back in the studio to start working on their next album they really know their musical tastes.

“What I like the most about what we do is that we have succeeded with something that feels very familiar yet relevant and new and fresh,” he said.

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In Internet: https://www.theblackpumas.com/

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