Black Pumas HHV Records 5 Items

The unassuming duo from Austin, Texas

The Black Pumas emerged in 2017 – the unassuming duo of singer Eric Burton and producer Adrian Quesada met in Austin, Texas, and decided to collaborate after some experimentation in the studio. Both came from completely different corners of the music industry: at that time, Quesada, with his funk band Grupo Fantasma, had already toured the United States extensively, supported a certain Prince at shows, and won a Grammy with his group. When he had enough of that side of the business, he became a producer in his own studio and looked for new collaborators in the local scene. There, he met Burton – who, as a street musician, had already gotten his hands dirty over the years, turned up his mobile amplifier everywhere between California and Austin after studying music, and turned his own songs into cash. When Quesada was looking for a voice for the countless instrumentals on his hard drive, a friend passed Burton’s number to him: the chemistry was right, and the Black Pumas found their start in sometimes danceable, sometimes nostalgic R&B and soul numbers. In 2018, the first double single Fire / Black Moon Rising was released.

Tradition-conscious and contemporary

Various musicians were brought on board for the 10 tracks of the self-titled debut album, but the duo of Burton and Quesada remained the heart of the project. In the summer of 2019, their psychedelic soul album was released and immediately skyrocketed – with 10,000 records sold and a Grammy nomination, the two made waves in the genre, and the politically charged single Colors alone immediately showed itself as a double Grammy contender. The song is older than the duo itself and was previously only heard live on the street. Much of their project is guided by feeling: “I just wanted to create timeless music,” Quesada reflects on the creation of the debut record. And the choice of the name is just as simple, by the way: “Black Pumas just sounds cool.” Period. With a bag full of infectious melodies, dusty soul beats, and gospel elements, the Black Pumas went on tour in the same year, also establishing themselves on television with appearances on various late-night shows. The influences for the newly formed band are numerous: from the soulful power of Otis Redding to 60s legends like Creedence Clearwater Revival, but also the Wu-Tang Clan is evident in their brilliantly produced tracks – the Black Pumas bring it all together into a tradition-conscious whole alongside contemporary acts like Curtis Harding.

Discovering truth in music

They bridged the time of the Corona lockdown with livestreams to maintain contact with their fans. But for the second full-length album, the two no longer wanted to look to the past, says Burton: “All I’m focused on is the next song and the truth it tells. That’s my job and all I worry about.” So with Chronicles of a Diamond in 2023, new truths are told – and they revolve around the various facets of love, unity, and self-development. The uncensored emotionality in Burton’s voice is the focal point, set against soft, always forward-moving soundscapes of vintage material: the Black Pumas mature and evolve their sound. The duo would hardly describe themselves as old-fashioned in their approach: “Basically, we’re just a band that still relies on guitars, plays live, and has a lot of fun,” says Quesada. They attribute their rapid success to embodying the timeless – and that, in turn, has to do with honesty: “If you tell the truth in your work, people will discover it.”