Composer, guitarist and producer Adrian Quesada’s new album, Boleros Psicodélicos, is a hipper, more far-out version of the songs a drunken tio would hum to his wife. Fusing psychedelic sensibilities with Latin American balada music, Quesada's latest pays tribute to a deeply sentimental genre, while iterating on its sounds. These are desperate, sometimes erotic pleas for love, attention, and companionship; and the type of song which score telenovelas and midday fantasies of lonely homemakers.
Growing up in south Texas, where balada and boleros had migrated, Quesada was more interested in hip-hop and punk rock than the balada music of his elder Mexican Americans. It wasn’t until Quesada got older and more experimental as part of the GRAMMY-nominated Black Pumas that his tastes expanded. He's since come full circle with baladas, recognizing the allure of the genre's dark, gothic organs and fuzzy guitars.
"I appreciate a more traditional approach to boleros and old Mexican music," he tells GRAMMY.com, "but when I heard this psychedelic approach to boleros, it floored me because it was an intersection of all the things I like."
Although the origins or baladas can be traced back to Cuba in the 19th century, Mexican composers brought the genre international appeal in the '60s and '70s. While boleros started out as slow, wistful ballads, younger Latin American musicians evolved the sound in the '60s by experimenting with instrumentation and invoking melancholic and tormented lyrics. Bands like Chile's Los Angeles Negros, Mexico's José José and Uruguyan group Los Iracundos streamed through homes, out windows and into the streets, where a collective chorus of desire and longing echoed throughout neighborhoods in Latin America and stateside.
With Boleros Psicodélicos, out June 3 on ATO Records, Quesada picks up where those 1960s musicians left off, folding in punk, psych and electronic influences. Much as those psychedelic balada artists crossed borders, Boleros Psicodélicos features artists from across the globe, who create the album's mystical amalgamation of genres.
Quesada's second solo album features guest appearances by some of the most adventurous and experimental Latin American artists, including iLe, and Girl Ultra — who contributes a brooding ambience to album standout "El Payaso." Boleros Psicodélicos bounces from those darker tonal vibes, to organ and guitar-heaviness of "El Paraguas," which features vocals by Gabriel Garzón-Montano. The album also includes covers of classic balada tracks, such as "Esclavo y Amo," a 1975 hit from Peruvian band Los Pasteles Verdes, as well as original compositions created by Quesada.
While Boleros Psicodélicos is Quesada's first album since 2018’s Look at My Soul: The Latin Shade of Texas Soul, and furthers the adventurous genre-melding sounds of Quesada's work with Black Pumas and resurrects an almost-forgotten genre. Not since 1997’s Buena Vista Social Club has there been such a loving ode to a period of Latin American music.
Quesdada spoke to GRAMMY.com about falling back in love with the bolero sound of his youth, and the impact of the genre and culture on his music.
What struck you most about your creative process while working on Boleros Psicodélicos?
This new album was very much a pandemic album. I finally had the time to execute. On the one hand, I was super inspired when the pandemic happened. I was really, really on fire. Like everyone else, I had nothing else to do. I started two albums simultaneously.
All of a sudden, I hit a wall. Things got heavy with the pandemic, but it was easy to get a hold of people to collaborate on this project. A lot of people were experiencing what I was experiencing, it was a hard time to deal with being super creative. The creative process was all over the place. There were days when I was super inspired and days when I wasn’t.
How did the intense isolation and loneliness of the pandemic impact your approach to his project?
I’m an only child, so I’m used to being left to my own devices — drawing, painting and making music. That doesn't phase me all that much, to be alone, creating. At a certain point, I need to pop my head up and have people around. Or I’ll sit there and obsess and double-guess myself. As much as I can work by myself for days and days, I need other people in the room to bounce ideas off, be inspired and put things in perspective. The pandemic was a tricky time to actually finish.
You didn’t develop an appreciation for balada music you grew up with until later in life; what finally brought you back to these sounds?
What I had grown up listening to around me was the traditional sense with boleros, using guitars and vocal harmonizing. I didn’t realize there was this era where bands were electrifying the instruments and the palette, and incorporating this perfect ven diagram at the time. They were listening to rock and psychedelic music, soul, and funk. You can hear it in the way they’re arranging things.
It took me discovering that era to go back and appreciate some of the songs. Honestly, I appreciate a more traditional approach to boleros and old Mexican music, but when I heard this psychedelic approach to boleros, it floored me because it was an intersection of all the things I like.
In terms of musicality, what do you find most intriguing about the genre’s dark, baroque strings and harpsichords?
There was that approach of that grand kind of arrangement, with an arranger and strings and an orchestra. It was like what the Beatles were doing with these grand orchestrations, but it was still kind of psychedelic. These bands were playing with sounds that early Pink Floyd were using, reverbed-out guitar, surf guitar style, crazy big organs. I love to highlight the drama of what’s going on in these songs. Some of that makes these songs over-the-top. It can make you feel like you’re on mushrooms.
How did you hope to compliment the album’s many covers, including Los Pasteles Verdes' 1975 hit "Esclavo y Amo," with your original compositions?
I was listening to this playlist I put together that had inspiration songs for this album. When I found myself making original songs, I had to stop referencing the stuff that was inspiring me because I would rather just have the originals. I was sure everyone else would too. I didn’t want to do a carbon copy of another era. I was hoping it would show an influence on what I was doing, but not be an album of cover songs.
You have partnered with some brilliant singers and artists on this project, including iLe, Gabriel Garzón-Montano, Girl Ultra and Marc Ribot. What qualities did you look for when seeking out collaborators?
The list of collaborators for this album was not long. I wanted this album to be in Spanish, and there’s stuff that would get lost in translation. There’s a certain drama that comes with this music that not every artist can do.
Some of them I wasn’t sure if it would work, if they would be into it — Girl Ultra being one of them. But she was into the idea. She loved it. Not everybody was totally into the idea; there were a couple of people that passed on it. Everyone I got on the album have a foot in tradition while doing their own thing.
The Black Pumas were nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best New Artist in 2020. On a more intimate level, what were your smaller goals for this record?
By the time I finish with a project, I can’t even tell if anyone is going to like it. I have to walk away from it. When it’s released I see people’s reactions to it, I come around and say, I wasn't doing that in vain. There’s not as much pressure with something like this as there is with the Pumas. I approach it all as it’s going to be the biggest thing ever.
Fusing the baladas genre with psychedelic music is a brilliant collage. If any, what were the growing pains of melding these two distinct sounds?
In my head, it’s always worked. I’m still discovering cool music from that era. A friend of mine from South Texas, from the Valley, told me his dad was a musician in Mexico, originally from Spain. Out of nowhere he sent me a song a year ago on YouTube of his dad. It was totally in line with this stuff. Every time I discovered an artist for this project, they’ve opened the door for someone else. It’s an endless well of inspiration.
Who do you imagine the target audience is for this album? I hope that it stretches beyond just the music nerds and into the homes of Latino peoples across Texas and other Latino-dominated states.
Ideally, that’s the idea for sure. I’m no expert in musicology. It’s all discovery for me too. It’s like I’m making a documentary and I’m still in the middle of it. I love how younger generations are starting to embrace this music. People much younger than me are embracing this music as part of their past.