Nu-Tone Interview Series: Johnny Burgos

Nu-Tone is an independent record label based in Freehold, New Jersey that specializes in cinematic funk, Latin, soul and more. Nu-Tone is the sister label of the renowned surf and exotica record label, Hi-Tide Recordings. Every month The Pop Break will be interviewing an artist from Nu-Tone artist roster.

Smooth.

This is the perfect word to describe Johnny Burgos, a Brooklyn born and raised singer, who released his latest single “Growing on Me” on Nu-Tone 45′ today. Burgos’s smooth, soulful sound is a beautiful mix of music and lyrics that speak to people from all walks of life. Recently, we caught up with Burgos to discuss his new music, how music changed the direction of his life, how his work in production influenced his music and his goals for 2025.

Year I Began Performing Professionally: 2013

City I’m Based Out Of: Brooklyn Born and Raised

My Sound Has Been Compared To: Thee Sacred Souls, Durand Jones & The Indications, Aaron Frazer, Jalen Ngonda

Musicians You Take Inspiration From: Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield, Smokey Robinson, The Isley Brothers

Take us through your musical journey, back to the earliest of days — when did you know music was your calling?

I don’t know if it was my calling until my mid-twenties, but I believe music saved my life.
Music was always around me via my own household, family parties, and my uncle Andre Martinez who is a world-class percussionist. I always had a natural propensity for it but I lost my way in middle school and got into the wrong things, which led to my incarceration immediately after high school. I struggled to stay on the right path until I reignited my passion for music and storytelling. It gave me purpose and a way to redeem myself after many costly mistakes in life, so I began taking it seriously and started looking for ways to hone my skills.

I started more as a beat maker using an Akai MPC and sampling off of vinyl records. But, I began to feel limited by that approach so I would sit and reverse engineer the sample by copying it, so I inadvertently taught myself how to build chords on a keyboard. From there my productions started to sound a lot more melodic and I began playing with cadences that were more sung instead of rapped, for which I received a lot of positive feedback. I went on to take an internship at FLUX Studios in NYC under Fab Dupont, where I honed my engineering, production, and songwriting skills even further. The rest is history.

Following up on that, who in your family was the one who encouraged you to take this path?

Honestly, not too many did but I was never the type to need the encouragement to try it.

You are a veteran in the studio having done production and engineering work with the likes of 50 Cent, Q-Tip, and The Roots. Does this technical work aid you in the creation of your own music? If so, can you please explain?

Absolutely. My technical background and studio experience is crucial to how effectively I can capture an idea that’s as close to what I or my client has envisioned. It also allows me to articulate my ideas effectively too, which is crucial to any collaborative creative process.
When I hear a specific tone for something, I can effectively communicate that to the players in the studio so that we hit our mark.

What would you say is one of your most proud moments working on a song or album (that isn’t one of your own songs).

I don’t know if I have a proudest moment but I’m always proud of any idea that I see through to its fullest potential. I do love when I’m collaborating with someone in the studio and I bring an idea to the table that lights a fire under everyone else in the room and almost catalyzes the completion of a song.

You have a new 45′ dropping on Friday, February 7 called “Growing on Me.” Can you talk about the song, and how it stands out from the other songs in your catalog?

The 45 features two new songs, both “Growing on Me” and “Ready.” “Growing On Me” is an earlier single I released digitally in September around my quick tour supporting Jason Joshua. It’s a crafty pop-soul ballad that encapsulates the initial process of falling in love. It’s built on classic pop sensibility and Jeremy and I’s signature novel-meets-nostalgic sound, the song explores the realization of strong romantic feelings growing for a potential partner and the small, everyday scenarios in life that prove it.

I wrote the song in its entirety in one session at my home studio one day, then tracked a simple production demo for it that I sent over to Jeremy, and per usual, he understood the assignment and delivered a killer production demo that moved the process along quickly. We tracked the final vocals later that week and had Sam Harris come in and lay some killer live drums on it for the cherry on top.

“Ready” is also a really fun pop-soul cut that Just dropped digitally and is also romantically inspired which makes this “Lovers Red” 45 a perfect Valentine’s day gift!

Tell me about having a physical 45 drop. It feels like the perfect medium for your style of music.

I couldn’t agree more! I think the nostalgia of the analog medium and the nostalgia found in my music are a match made in heaven. I’m so glad that physical music mediums are making a comeback as it’s much more of a human experience to hold an object and perform the ritual of placing it on the record player, dropping the needle and pressing play that feels like art in itself. It allows the listener to become a part of the process too! I’m very grateful to labels like NuTone for keeping vinyl culture alive and allowing me to share my music with the world in such a special way.

You have the single dropping, are there plans for a full-length in the future?

Yes, there is an album on the way. Jeremy and I are steady in the kitchen cooking!

You describe your sound as “future soul.” Can you elaborate on that.

For me, It’s really about capturing that novel meets nostalgia in the sound. Right now, it seems like I’m in a place where my writing is more novel than say a straight-up retro soul act, where you can find hip-hop and neo-soul influences in my cadences and phrasing but there’s plenty of nostalgia in the approach to production, engineering and melodies. I like music where both can coexist.

Talk about the Johnny Burgos live experience. If someone were to see you live, what’s the vibe of one of your concerts?

Well, it’s a ride! The full band consists of drums, bass, guitar, keys, trombone, trumpet and myself on percussion and vocals. There’s a dynamic to the set and we like to take the room on a journey with us. I really aspire to connect with the room I’m playing in and make us all feel like family and find the common ground we all relate to the reason we’re in that room in the first place. The music. The slow love songs draw you into the arms of the loved ones you’re there with or make you think of them in their absence. The anthemic ones surge through your body as a call to action to stand for whatever it is you’ve been wanting to stand for. The upbeat funky ones are impossible for your hips and feet to deny and we all become closer through our experience together in that room. I say something often in my between-song banter as I get through a set because I truly do feel like “We family now!” Next show is February 27th at the Sultan Room in Brooklyn, NY!

What are five things you are excited for, for your career in 2025?

1. Releasing this 45 with NuTone Recordings
2. Completing and releasing the next album (Best music I’ve made to date)
3. More collaborations that I can’t mention yet.
4. Playing more live shows and touring. (Hopefully Europe Soon!)
5. Creating more art in other mediums and growing as an artist.

“Growing on Me” by Johnny Burgos drops on February 7 via Nu-Tone.