Black Pumas, the rising Austin duo of powerhouse vocalist Eric Burton and Grammy-winning producer and guitarist Adrian Quesada, have emerged as “the breakout band of 2019” (NPR) with the release of their self-titled album on ATO Records, a debut that according to KCRW “radiates soul at a wattage that may not be exactly street legal.”
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Fresh off their nomination for Best New Artist at the 2020 GRAMMY Awards, they share the new music video for their hit single “Colors.”
The cinematic clip — a powerfully intimate, Melanin-packed depiction of the joys and hardships of life colliding— was directed by Kristian Mercado, fresh off his Best Music Video win at this year’s SXSW Film Festival for Hurray for the Riff Raff’s “Pa’lante.”
“I really wanted to capture how powerful the sounds and vocals of Black Pumas are,” says Mercado. “I’m driven by emotion and felt a strong connection to the music. I was on a trip in Florida at Banana Records, when I heard ‘Colors’ playing. I was instantly moved and asked tons of questions about who they were. It was such a powerful song and experience that I sought out to do the music video for the song. We shot the whole film in the Bronx, wanted to show the Bronx as a place that was alive and vibrant. We wanted to celebrate family, connections, movement, and life. We explored the idea of the Bronx as a living garden, always growing always moving forward, and finding a cinematic landscape in places people often ignore.Eric and I spoke in great length about perspective and growing up, and how sometimes it’s a complicated experience, and we want to capture the feeling that is both beautiful and sometimes imperfect. We wanted to show both the joys and hardships of life colliding and expressing things in movement with images colliding together. Black Pumas are an extraordinary band and the visual needed to share the timeless quality of the song.”
“Colors” has racked up 14 million streams and been Shazamed 100K times, and the band’s incredible live video of the song went viral with over 7 million views to date. Last month, Black Pumas performed “Colors” on Jimmy Kimmel Live, following their network TV debut on CBS This Morning. Their performance of the track on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic was featured on NPR Music’s Favorite Sessions. “Colors” is currently at #18 on AAA Radio, the band’s highest charting single to date.
Black Pumas’ live show has been called “electrifying” by The Guardian, and following their Austin City Limits taping, the Austin American-Statesmanraved, “To say Black Pumas is having a moment is like saying summer this year in Austin, Texas, has been pretty hot. With sold-out shows at large concert halls around the globe, singles clocking seven figures on streaming services and enthusiastic shoutouts from top-tier national publications, the band isn’t ascendant. It is skyrocketing.” Black Pumas’ performance on the iconic PBS series Austin City Limits is set to air in early January.
After selling out their entire U.S. and E.U. tours this fall, Black Pumas are currently wrapping a sold-out run in the UK. They will continue to tour North American and Europe in early 2020, including dates in Amsterdam and Berlin that have already sold out in advance.
