Black Pumas are the KUTX Artist of the Month for July. This week on My KUTX, we’re revisiting a guest DJ set from guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada. Photo by Gabriel C. Pérez/KUTX.
A few years ago, producer Adrian Quesada had a psychedelic-soul instrumental laying around, but it needed a singer, someone who could bring the song to life. Enter Eric Burton, who had moved to Austin from Los Angeles, busking along the way with some musician friends. Together, Quesada and Burton turned that sketch into “Black Moon Rising,” and Black Pumas rose up in its midst. The band’s self-titled debut follows the thread of that origin, offering up songs that are perfectly realized while still retaining a beginner’s energy.
This year, Black Pumas take their sound on a big North American and European tour, with a midway stop for two nights at the Mohawk, August 23 and 24. So as the band chews up the miles, we’re revisiting Quesada’s guest DJ set from 2016. Here, he offers up psych-soul influences from the Temptations, talks about the mind-blowing sound of Public Enemy, and digs into what artists like the Beastie Boys and Marc Ribot have meant to him over the years. Listen to My KUTX on Saturday, July 20 at 6 p.m. or at any time in the player below.
–Art Levy // producer, My KUTX
Playlist:
1. The Temptations – “Ain’t No Sunshine”
2. Serge Gainsbourg – “Requiem Pour Un Con”
3. Public Enemy – “By The Time I Get To Arizona”
4. Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos – “Postizo”
5. Goat – “Run To Your Mama”
6. Daniel Johnston – “American Dream”
7. Croy & The Boys – “Good Enough”
8. Liam Bailey – “When Will They Learn”
9. Beastie Boys – “Gratitude”
10. George Harrison – “Apple Scruffs”
11. The J.B.’s – “The Grunt”
12. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth – “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)”
13. The Lijadu Sisters – “Life’s Gone Down Low”
Episodes
