The Electric Peanut Butter Company

The Arc of The Electric Peanut Butter Company

The pivots — what forced The Electric Peanut Butter Company to reinvent.

1. 01

   The Trans-Atlantic File Swap

   After years of orbiting the same funk and soul circles, Lee and Quesada formalized their partnership by working remotely through a series of digital exchanges. This era is defined by the absence of a traditional band room, forcing each player to react to the other's multi-instrumental tracks across the ocean. The result was Vol. 2—which confusingly came out before Vol. 1—showcasing a dense, layered approach to psychedelic pop that felt both meticulously composed and strangely loose. You hear the distance in the way the tracks are glued together, prioritizing the groove and the vintage texture over a live-in-studio chemistry.

Influences

• David Axelrod — Quesada and Lee have both cited Axelrod's massive, cinematic drum production and baroque arrangements as the blueprint for their sound. You hear it in the heavy, reverb-soaked percussion and the way the basslines anchor the more ethereal psych elements. It's the 'Songs of Innocence' DNA rearranged for a modern breakbeat era.
• The Electric Prunes — The band name itself is a direct nod to 'Release of an Oath' era Prunes, specifically the period when Axelrod took the reins. The swirling, fuzz-drenched guitars on tracks like 'Mary's Pin' are a straight homage to that 1968 psych-religious aesthetic. It is less about the garage rock and more about the ornate, heavy-psych orchestration.
• Kourosh Yaghmaei — Shawn Lee has frequently championed the 1970s Iranian rock scene, particularly Yaghmaei's unique blend of Persian melodies and Western psych-funk. That influence shows up in the winding, minor-key guitar scales and the specific, dry drum snap found across their two volumes. It’s an globalist approach to crate-digging turned into original composition.
• Janko Nilovic — The duo's obsession with 1970s library music leads directly back to Nilovic's work for the Editions Montparnasse 2000 label. They replicate his ability to mix orchestral brass with funky rhythm sections to create 'incidental' music that stands alone. The tracks feel like cues for a heist film that was never actually filmed.
• The Meters — Quesada's guitar work is deeply rooted in the minimalist, syncopated scratching of Leo Nocentelli. While the Peanut Butter project adds layers of psych-fuzz, the rhythmic backbone is pure New Orleans funk. If you strip away the effects, the core of these tracks is built on that tight, interlocking drum-and-bass pocket.