Adrian Quesada

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Adrian Quesada
BornLaredo, Texas
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Multi-instrumentalist
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active2000–present
Labels
  • ATO
  • Innova
  • ESL Music
  • Nacional Records
Member of
Formerly of
  • Brownout
  • Ocote Soul Sounds
  • Echocentrics
  • Spanish Gold

Adrian Quesada is an American musician, producer, and songwriter. He is best known for his work with Black Pumas.[1] Quesada is an eight-time Grammy nominee and won Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album as a member of Grupo Fantasma in 2011.[2][3]

Early life and education[edit]

Quesada grew up on the US-Mexico border in Laredo, Texas in the 1990s. As a child, he listened to punk and hip-hop as well as the Tex-Mex music he heard on both sides of the border. In a 2021 interview he said that although he soaked in the Latin music he was surrounded by, he did not fully appreciate it until he was in college.[2][4]

Quesada started to play guitar when he was 13. He attended the University of Texas in Austin, due, in part, to the city's active music scene.[2]

Career[edit]

In Austin, Quesada played in bands including Brownout, Ocote Soul Sound, Spanish Gold, Echocentrics, and Grupo Fantasma, with whom he played for 15 years. The Austin American Statesman described him as the "creative force behind four highly successful bands" who had become a "central figure in putting Austin on the contemporary Latin music map."[2]

In late 2017, on the recommendation of a friend, Quesada contacted Eric Burton to sing on instrumentals he had recorded. They formed Black Pumas shortly after their first meeting, and released their self-titled debut in June 2019. Critically acclaimed, they were nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy four months after their first album was released.[5] A deluxe version of their debut and a live album were subsequently released; as of 2022 the Black Pumas had received six Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year.[6][7] They played more than 60 live shows prior to and after the COVID-19 pandemic and, in addition to other television shows, they appeared on Austin City Limits, the Grammy Awards telecast, Late Show with Stephen Colbert[8] and Celebrating America, the concert following the Biden inauguration.[9]

In early 2022, inspired by the Latin American psychedelic ballads of the sixties and seventies, Quesada recorded Boleros Psicodélicos. Set for release in June, iLe, Gabriel Garzón-Montano, Girl Ultra and Marc Ribot are featured on the record, which includes classic balada music as well as Quesada's original compositions.[10] Rolling Stone's Ernesto Lechner wrote that with its "remarkable intensity and a mind-boggling attention to detail", the album "promised to be one of 2022's most gorgeous releases".[3] The first single from the album, "Mentiras con Cariño" (featuring iLe), was released in March 2022. It was Quesada's first solo single.[11]

Well-known as a producer,[12] Quesada works out of his Austin studio, Electric Deluxe. In addition the Black Pumas records, he has more than 150 production credits,[13] including Look at My Soul: The Latin Shade of Texas Soul, his collection of original songs and re-recordings of Chicano soul classics.[14][15]

Selected discography[edit]

Year Album, extended play
collaboration 		Artist Label
2022 Boleros Psicodélicos Adrian Quesada ATO Records
Jaguar Sound[1] Adrian Quesada
2021 Capitol Cuts: Live from Studio A Black Pumas ATO Records
2019 Black Pumas Black Pumas ATO Records
2018 Look at My Soul: The Latin Shade of Texas Soul Quesada, various artists Nacional Records
2012 Adrian Younge vs. Adrian Quesada Adrian Younge and Adrian Quesada Ubiquity
2011 Sunshadows The Echocentrics Ubiquity
Duke! Three Portraits Of Ellington Golden Arm Trio, Adrian Quesada,
Graham Reynolds, Duke Ellington 		Innova
2009 Coconut Rock Martin Perna and Adrian Quesada ESL Music / Eighteenth Street
2008 Sonidas Gold Grupo Fantasma Aire Sole Records
2004 El Niño y el Sol Ocote Soul Sounds/Adrian Quesada ESL Music

Awards and nominations[edit]

Grammy Awards[edit]

2022 Capitol Cuts: Live from Studio A (Black Pumas) Best Rock Album Nominated
Capitol Cuts: Live from Studio A (Black Pumas) Best Rock Performance Nominated
2021 "Colors"
Record of the Year Nominated
Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition) Album of the Year Nominated
Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition) Best American Roots Performance Nominated
2020 Black Pumas Best New Artist Nominated
2011 El Existential, Grupo Fantasma Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album Won
2009 Sonidas Gold, Grupo Fantasma Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Parker, Bryan C. (2022-10-04). "Adrian Quesada Can't Be Contained". Austin Monthly. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
  2. ^ a b c d Flores, Nancy (2011-06-10). "Adrian Quesada, with four eclectic bands, helps put Austin's Latin scene on the map". Austin American Statesman. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
  3. ^ a b Lechner, Ernesto (2022-03-29). "Adrian Quesada's New Trip: Reviving the Magic of 'Boleros Psicodélicos'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
  4. ^ "Oxford American | More Bridges Than Walls". www.oxfordamerican.org. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  5. ^ Browne, David (2020-01-21). "Black Pumas: Rise of a Psychedelic-Soul Force". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  6. ^ Reed, James (2020-12-11). "How did Black Pumas go from busking to Grammy faves? Practice, sure, and the right song". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
  7. ^ Romero, Leah. "Black Pumas, former NMSU student, gain two more Grammy Award nominations". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
  8. ^ Bloom, Madison (2021-01-20). "Watch Black Pumas Perform "Colors" on Colbert". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  9. ^ Sanchez, Gabrielle (2021-01-21). "Fall Deeper in Love With Black Pumas, Inauguration and Grammy Showstoppers". Vulture. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  10. ^ Ruiz, Matthew (2022-03-29). "Black Pumas' Adrian Quesada Announces Album, Shares Video for New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  11. ^ "MBE March 30: Black Pumas' Adrian Quesada honors the golden era of bala". KCRW. 2022-03-30. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  12. ^ "Guest DJ With Adrian Quesada, A Man Who Needs Four Bands". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  13. ^ "Adrian Quesada | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  14. ^ Leight, Elias (2018-11-01). "'Latin Shade of Texas Soul': Adrian Quesada Sheds Light on Tejano R&B History in New LP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  15. ^ Burns, Brian (2022-03-29). "Adrian Quesada (feat. iLe), 'Mentiras Con Cariño'". NPR. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
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