Crate Digging: Will Quiney, Redfive

Crate Digging is a music discovery platform where contributors take home and discuss two records from across Concord Label Group’s active and historical labels.

Will Quiney, senior music supervisor at Redfive, discusses his top two finds.

My Frontline find is Hermanos Gutiérrez’s ‘El Bueno Y El Malo’.

I was living close to the desert on the west coast of America last year and discovered this band at a local record store called Going Underground in LA. The owner told me about them and I snapped up three of their records. During the pandemic I got really into all these trippy Americana bands like Date Palms and North Americans, lots of slide guitar and ambient mediative drones. Hermanos Gutiérrez are two brothers who have part Ecuadorian heritage but live in Switzerland. One plays classic guitar and the other plays lap steel guitar.

They play beautiful, sun soaked, contemplative, southwestern / 50s Latin American influenced guitar-driven instrumentals. Similar feel to the soundtrack of Breaking Bad or something, very filmic and soundscapey. The production makes it feel like they are playing in the same room as you and they have a warm sound that I think isn't too twangy or country. No offense country fans! Dan Auerbach plays on one of the songs, so I think this is a great album for guitar music lovers in general.

I really love ‘Los Chicos Tristes’ and ‘El Bueno Y El Malo’ especially from this record. The latter reminds me of a David Lynch film soundtrack like Wild At Heart. The lap steel guitar sound always makes me think of the stillness of the warm desert night air with a touch of mystery. There is a nostalgic emotional quality to the band that makes them unique. They’re getting better and better with each release and their music sounds incredible on vinyl.

I could easily see these songs in films or TV shows, as they naturally feel so filmic, even in non-American set narratives. The sound is so intimate, I can hear them playing over scenes when characters are looking inward or making challenging decisions.

My Catalogue pick is a compilation called ‘Dedicated to You: Lowrider Love’ on Craft Recordings. I’m not really a car person but I have a thing for lowriders so that immediately drew me in.

When I moved to California, I wrongly assumed the low rider cars would all be playing G funk, which many do, but actually their classic sound is the ‘oldies’ genre. This is early romantic, 60s soul and doo wop loved by the Mexican community who originated the Lowrider car scene in areas like Whittier and Boyle Heights, deep in the east of the city. This unique culture is still alive and well in these neighborhoods and I loved going down to see the cars at cruise nights and hear the music blasting as they showed off their insane custom hydraulics.

It opens with a beautiful song by The Sheppards called ‘Tragic’ from 1964. This song grabbed me as it has amazing reverbed out vocal harmonies similar to ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ by The Flamingos. The record also has some other great artists like Brenton Wood who is iconic in that world and Joe Bataan who is more famous for his Latin soul music. There’s a big dj and vinyl collectors scene in California buying up all the old 45s which go for a lot of cash, so this record is a great way to discover this genre.

You often hear that Flamingos track in films, TV and trailers. It has an amazing woozy psychedelic but romantic quality so The Sheppards’ ’Tragic’ would be a great replacement for that.

If you’d like to know more, or you’re keen to discover more of our repertoire, please contact: tom.frank@concord.com.