We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Burgundee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Burgundee, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I think the most meaningful project we worked on was when we finally made the decision to release an EP and got serious with the band. It was honestly such an exhilarating experience working on the songs and background vocals constantly up until recording day came. We knocked out all six tunes from 12 pm to 12 am! And, it was an exciting experience actually hearing our songs in the studio and being able to hear how each band member is adding their soul and vision to the song.

Burgundee, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Burgundee is a neo-soul collective consisting of Beatriz Guzman as a vocalist, Andrew Amengor on keyboard and trumpet, Sergio Zavala on guitar, Juan Moreno on bass, and Victor Sanchez on drums. We all went to the FIU School of Music. The way we started as a band wasn’t forced; no one was like “we should become a band,” and we didn’t really have a conversation about it. It kind of just happened! I eventually gave the band a name when I wanted to sign us up for a contest and came up with “Burgundee” with my friend Karina. We started out doing covers and eventually started doing originals. Everyone has equal input into everything that happens with the band, and we’re free to express ourselves in whatever way we want, which is a really important concept in our band.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The reality for a lot of up and coming artists is that it takes a lot of investing into their brand just to get it out there for people to find. Things could take a while to pick up and a lot of people get discouraged by this and end up doing something else that provides a faster profit, which is understandable because they have to make ends meet. Since a lot of the big media companies take a large majority of the profit generated by artists, its best to support them directly by purchasing things on their website or Bandcamp, and going to their live events. Also, just helping get the word out is a really really huge help for artists. All of these things add up at the end and help create a thriving ecosystem for artists to be secure enough to keep creating and evolving.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Artists have to wear every hat imaginable nowadays. Doing this is extremely time consuming and takes tons of dedication and resilience. In some cases, it can be too much for some people, a lot of which are immensely talented in their craft. Artists create because its something they love and believe in so I think its important to keep that in mind when dealing with all these other things that take up so much time and energy. Its easy to get discouraged by all the extra work but it’s worth it for small moments that remind you why you do it in the first place. We have definitely dealt with all these struggles and are constantly working through them one thing at a time and we encourage every other artists to do the same and keep going.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeburgundee/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theeburgundee
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/burgundee

Image Credits
Karina Corton, Backroom Sessions Miami, and Natives Media.