Grammy-winning artist Adrian Quesada shares a track-by-track rundown of his cinematic new LP, Boleros Psicodélicos II.
One half of critically acclaimed soul outfit Black Pumas, instrumentalist and producer Adrian Quesada is a revered and revolutionary name nestled within pop music’s consensus. Three years after the release of his psychedelic masterpiece Boleros Psicodélicos, the Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated visionary has shared a second segment, exploring further the depths of baroque pop, dream-laden soundscapes and intricate guitar work.
The record is hazy and cinematic, full of instrumental depth and wonderful turns from the impressive and global-leaning feature cast — from Chilean singer-songwriter Gepe to Colombian talent Monsieur Periné and Los Angeles artist Cuco. To take a closer look at the album, Quesada breaks down the project for Wonderland, track-by-track.
Listen to the album…
Read the track-by-track…
“Ojos Secos“
Ojos Secos was the last song we recorded for the album, and I knew it would be worth it. Cuco is an incredible talent. I had worked with him years ago on a show I was music director for and reconnected with him via my co-producer, Alex Goose. I was on tour when he had a small window to do it so I had to knock out some demos in a hotel room and as soon as this one came together I immediately knew it was gonna be one. He wrote and recorded the lyrics and vocals in front of us in just a few hours, late at night after another studio session he had just come from. It was pure magic and I knew it had to be the first song.
“Bravo“
iLe had recommended this song as a cover when we did a few live shows for Boleros Psicodelicos I in 2022. It was such a good fit for the band and she of course completely knocked it out of the park, so I felt like we had to include it on the album. She delivers it with the same intensity as the Olga Guillot version we referenced. The original is from 1966 and the lyrics would be intense if they were written in 2025. I love how they challenge the bolero stereotype: “I hope after you die, there is nowhere for you to go. Hell is like heaven compared to your soul. I hope God forgives me for wishing that after death you don’t find peace.”
“No Juego“
I have worked with Angelica on a number of songs and knew I wanted her back for this album. I sent her a bunch of new ideas and she randomly replied with an idea for a demo from the first album. She and her collaborator Ciel had an idea to chop the whole thing up like a hip hop song and we were lucky enough to be able to connect in person in a studio in LA. I loved how bold they were with the cutting and slicing of the music. Vocally, Angelica is a force to be reckoned with and she just took this one into another stratosphere lyrically and with her performance.
“Cuatro Vidas“
I have been a fan of the underrated Mexican singer Sola for sometime. I was turned on to her by my friend Carlos Icaza, aka Tropicaza, over 10 years ago. Fast forward to a few years ago and I was record shopping at his pop up in Mexico City when I found this funky but haunting version of the standard “Cuatro Vidas” by Sola on 45 and quickly became obsessed. I knew there was only one voice to pull this off so I reached out to Mireya and it turns out she already knew the song well so this one just came together exactly as I imagined it.
“Afuera“
I flew to the magical Chihuahuan desert in late 2023 to work with the amazing Ed Maverick. We cooked up a few ideas in the studio over the course of 2 days. I didn’t know whether this would be for this album or for something else, and I didn’t want to restrict us to a formula, but it was just left field enough where I knew it had to make this album. Ed is a rare talent and I have no doubt this desert environment influenced what you hear in the song.
“Primos“
Hermanos Gutierrez were in Austin for SXSW in 2023 and even with both our busy schedules we knew we wanted to do something together in the studio. We posted up at a friend’s spot for the day as funny enough my studio was booked by someone else. We recorded this instrumental that we wrote on the floor from scratch. There was so much synergy that day that all we had to do was add Jay Mumford on drums, who recorded his drums after the fact. It was at the very last minute that my co-producer Alex Goose had the idea of the haunting vocals, and as per usual, Angelica Garcia, came in and did the damn thing.
“Hoy Que Llueve“
The band that sent me down this journey over 20 years ago was Peru’s Los Pasteles Verdes with their song “Esclavo Y Amo” so I thought I’d pay tribute to them again. This is an incredibly haunting tune and Trish Toledo sang the hell out of it. I met Trish in person for the first time the day we were supposed to record it but I made a mistake in booking the studio with the wrong date. I felt horrible and embarrassed as I knew she had a small 4 hour window that day so I was scrambling to find another spot and Alex Goose came to the rescue, moving the session he had that day. We ended up with about two hours to do the whole thing and Trish delivered. One of my favourite songs on the album.
“Agonia“
In early 2024 I flew to Mexico City to work with the amazing Monsieur Perine. Agonia was one of a handful of instrumentals I sent them and they seemed to gravitate towards that one. In the spirit of the intimate collaboration I was hoping for on this album, we had about 24 hours to work on this and I got to see them work their magic in real time. We changed the key (multiple times) and re-recorded a lot of it. Santiago wrote an incredible string arrangement that we recorded the next morning, and Catalina penned some incredible lyrics – all within this short window. It was really a great experience to be immersed in music with them.
“Te Vas Y Yo Te Dejo“
This is a cover by an artist named Joseles who was originally from Spain and lived in Mexico City. He is the father of a friend of mine who turned me onto this song and I just knew I had to cover it. I have been a fan of Gepe for some time so to be able to connect with him in Chile on tour and have him be a part of it was a dream come true. I always want to be respectful of songs I cover, but also not be afraid to take one foot forward when doing so. Joseles himself not only gave us the seal of approval but also mailed me his last copy on 45 as well as the analog master tapes of the session. It’s experiences like that that make all this hard work totally worth it
“El Diamante“
As we were getting close to wrapping up the album, I had a rare day off on tour in NYC. I booked some studio time at the legendary Diamond Mine Studio to cut the instrumental to Ojos Secos for Cuco and had a few other loose ideas to fill the time. El Diamante was brought to life by the incredible band I had in the studio with me and just seemed to fit the album perfectly as an instrumental.
“Tu Poder“
Natalia Clavier was the first artist who understood this crazy idea I had almost 15 years ago when we recorded a cover of “Esclavo Y Amo” for an album of mine. It is only fitting that we continue to collaborate and this time I leaned on her to bring in a musical idea. She sent me a demo of Tu Poder which was amazing and Alex Goose and I just had to bring it to life and adapt it to this album. As always, she delivers in a raw and operatic way.
“No Temere“
Dayme Arocena is an incredible artist from Cuba, possessing so much raw power combined with vocal finesse. We connected in early 2023 when she was spending some time in Austin. I played her a few instrumentals I had recorded and she immediately decided to jump on this one. I had always imagined this being the opener to the album but in a weird way it somehow became the perfect closer. I imagine albums like movies in which every song is a scene and where it is placed is crucial to the big picture. This was the perfect song to go out with. She is such a singular artist and brought such a unique voice to this song and the album in general.
