In the years since he released his 2022 album, “Boleros Psicodélicos,” Grammy-winning musician, songwriter and producer Adrian Quesada has raised the bar for Latin alternative artistry. The guitar hero brought down the house this year at South by Southwest, and even nabbed himself an Academy Award nomination for his work on A24’s “Sing Sing.”
On Wednesday, he announced a new album in the works. Slated for a June 27 release, “Boleros Psicodélicos II” is the sequel to his 2022 Latin psychedelic opus.
Where Quesada finds the time to be so prolific, who knows; but where he finds the inspiration is quite clear. It’s all around him — whether it’s in the talented musicians in his community or the crates of vinyl waiting to be excavated at his local record store. “There’s so much,” he tells De Los via video call from Austin, Texas. “Anytime I open a door learning about this music that’s inspiring [the album], I learn about 10 new songs that I’ve never heard, then I find those … then I find 10 more on vinyl. And it’s just like, this bottomless pit of inspiration.”
The first iteration of “Boleros Psicodélicos,” which included tropically tinged spins on hits by Los Pasteles Verdes and Jeanette, was recorded in isolation early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. This time around, however, Quesada was able to work in the studio alongside his collaborators, which provided “a whole different energy” to the album’s sound. Guest artists include past collaborators Mireya Ramos and iLe, as well as the L.A. indie-pop star Cuco, who appears with Quesada on the new single “Ojos Secos.”
“Random people all over the world would tell me about being inspired by [‘Boleros Psicodélicos’], so it made me excited to finish a new one,” Quesada noted. “I think there’s more of a back-and-forth, collaborative energy on this, because I was in the room with people. There’s a little bit more life, energy to some of the songs.”
When it came time to decide how to split up the new album between covers and originals, Quesada explained that it came down to one test: Can he write an original song that rivals the vibes of a song that inspires him? If not, then he’ll just devise a cover for the track.
“There are certain songs that are really big inspirations and I can’t stop listening to them,” said Quesada — who covers Spanish artist Joseles’ “Te Vas y Yo Te Dejo” and “Hoy Que Llueve” by Los Pasteles Verdes in the forthcoming LP. “When I try to write something inspired by it I just throw in the towel and realize I’m not going to write anything even close or better than it, so this one needs to be covered.”
Quesada’s art of crafting a quality cover song was further refined by samples sourced by L.A.-based producer Alex Goose. As a hip-hop producer, Goose’s approach aligned with Quesada’s appreciation for hip-hop music, which he credited as his first big musical influence. Quesada said he got his start by jamming with friends, using songs by A Tribe Called Quest and Wu-Tang Clan as jumping-off points.
Beyond the Grammy-winning artist’s musical endeavors, Quesada added a new feather to his cap in January: He’s now an Oscar-nominated songwriter.
Quesada was nominated for Best Original Song at this year’s 97th annual Academy Awards alongside Abraham Alexander for writing the track “Like A Bird,” as featured in the Colman Domingo-led film “Sing Sing.”
“It was a wild thing to experience,” Quesada said of becoming a first-time Oscar nominee. “This whole campaign and everything [was] so, so insane and elevated. … It really takes over your life there for a little bit. It’s something I’ll never take for granted. I’ve always wanted to do more work in film, and to have something like that be recognized was absolute insanity.”
Quesada noted that the opportunity to write the song came during a very busy time for him and his co-writer, Abraham Alexander — which worked to his advantage, he says, because it allowed them to not “overthink” the process. The track kicks in during the final scene of the film, which Quesada watched ad nauseam until the song “just fit like a glove,” he said.
“I watched the scene over and over for hours and tapped out some drums until I found the pace and the editing,” Quesada said. “There’s such a rhythm to the way that they edit films that I wanted to capture that.”
After a riveting awards season, Quesada soon will embark on a tour with his new ensemble, Trio Asesino, this spring. They’ll be at the Sound in San Diego on May 16 and at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on May 17.
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