On the Hunt with the Black Pumas
IN THE MUSICAL world of unlikely pairings, it doesn’t get stranger than Adrian Quesada and Eric Burton, otherwise known as the psychedelic-soul duo the Black Pumas. The collaboration came together at the urging of a mutual friend who told Quesada — a Grammy-winning, Austin-based guitarist and producer whose onetime band, Grupo Fantasma, toured with Prince — about Burton, a virtually unknown, self-described “acoustic busker” who was passing through town from his native Los Angeles.
“On paper, we’re not supposed to work,” Quesada says. “You’d look at our histories and go, ‘What do these guys have in common?’ But the minute I heard Eric sing and play, I knew he had something I could work with. He’s got incredible talent, but he’s also sincere. That’s what bonds us. Eric isn’t trying to mimic anybody, and I’m not either. We just want to be ourselves, and I think that’s why we sound a little different — and hopefully, authentic.”
Before he
