Adrian Quesada

The first solo statement from Adrian Quesada — Black Pumas co-founder, Grammy-winning producer, Austin studio fixture — released June 3, 2022 on ATO Records. Boleros Psicodélicos is Quesada's love letter to the late-'60s and early-'70s wave of Latin American balladeers who wrapped traditional bolero in fuzz guitar, wah pedals, and tape-saturated string arrangements: artists like Lucho Gatica, Los Pasteles Verdes, and Trio Los Panchos as filtered through the studio sensibilities of Lee "Scratch" Perry and David Axelrod.

Quesada wrote, arranged, and produced the album entirely at his own Electric Deluxe studio in Austin, then handed each track over to a different vocalist — turning the record into a guest-driven anthology of contemporary Latin alt-stars singing in the bolero idiom.

Cool stuff:

• iLe, the Puerto Rican vocalist and former Calle 13 member, sings the opener "Mentiras Con Cariño" — she's a Grammy and Latin Grammy winner who's made a parallel career as a solo artist after leaving her brothers' group
• Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) and Money Mark (Beastie Boys) collaborate on "Hielo Seco" — a connection that traces Quesada's deep crate-digger network into both indie-rock and hip-hop
• The album's vocal cast includes Gabriel Garzón-Montano, Girl Ultra, Angelica Garcia, Gaby Moreno, Mireya Ramos, and Natalia Clavier — a who's-who of contemporary Latin alternative singers
• All instrumentation tracked at Quesada's Electric Deluxe studio in Austin, the same room he uses for Black Pumas sessions
• The project is a direct homage to the "bolero psicodélico" subgenre that flourished in Mexico, Peru, and across South America from roughly 1968 to 1975

Spin it for: vintage bolero filtered through fuzz pedals and tape saturation, with a guest-vocalist roster covering most of contemporary Latin alt music.

Standouts: "Mentiras Con Cariño" (feat. iLe) · "El Paraguas" (feat. Gabriel Garzón-Montano) · "Hielo Seco" (feat. Marc Ribot & Money Mark) · "Tus Tormentas" (feat. Mireya Ramos)

Sources: ATO Records · Bandcamp · Adrian Quesada official · Billboard