Forge Brief

Black Pumas

2017-present; commercial peak 2019-present (Black Pumas, Chronicles of a Diamond)

Theatrical, psychedelic-retro-soul, Austin-Texas — psychedelic-soul as Austin-via-Black-Pumas-school Stax-Muscle-Shoals-revival ritual.

Forge a Black Pumas-inspired song How we score

Genres

psychedelic soulretro-soulindie soulsoul-rock

Vocal character

Eric Burton: distinctive California-Texas-accented tenor with theatrical-soul precision, chest-voice belted chorus peaks, and gospel-influenced melismatic runs. Vibrato-controlled phrasing; multi-tracked harmonies on himself; psychedelic-soul + retro-soul hybrid precision with theatrical-soul emotional depth.

Production markers

Adrian Quesada productionpsychedelic-soul + retro-soul + indie-soul + soul-rock foundation (live electric-guitar + bass + drums + Rhodes piano + Hammond B3 organ + horn-section + female-gospel-backing-vocal-trio + occasional analog-synth pads)multi-tracked vocal harmony stacksreverb-light intimate vocal production with 60s-70s-Stax-Muscle-Shoals room acousticsanalog-tape production aestheticlive-band foundation with retro-soul-psychedelic-soul arrangement

Lyrical themes

romantic devotion + heartbreak with theatrical-soul detail (Colors, Fire)observation of life's costs with theatrical-soul precisioncelebration of Austin-Texas origincelebration of soul-tradition + Stax-Muscle-Shoals lineagetheatrical first-person storytelling

Signature moves

theatrical chest-voice belted chorus peak with gospel-melismatic vocal runHammond B3 organ swell + horn-section punctuationmulti-tracked female-gospel-backing-vocal-trio responselive-electric-guitar virtuoso solo passage

Avoid — off-brand for this artist

EDM dropsrap features as dominantmetal guitarauto-tune as crutchmodern-pop-radio polishlo-fi indie production808 sub-bass

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