Rodrigo y Gabriela: Bringing virtuoso guitar music to the masses

The duo performs in a concert at New York's Central Park.

Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero, better known as acclaimed acoustic guitar-rock duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, famously bonded over a shared love of heavy metal music in their native Mexico City. They cut their teeth busking on the streets of Ireland, and two decades later, they've traveled the world performing their unique brand of rock influenced by South American rhythms, headlining arenas and amassing countless fans with their breathtaking technique and talent.

Rodrigo y Gabriela recently kicked off a world tour in support of their most recent studio album, “9 Dead Alive”. The album bursts with their trademark energetic guitar interplay and complex rhythms, and is a collection of nine songs inspired by historical figures they greatly admire, ranging from abolitionist and humanitarian Harriet Tubman to Spanish guitarist and luthier Antonio de Torres Jurado, who is credited with designing the first modern guitars.

“We picked nine different personalities -- we wanted to share with people something more than music,” Sanchez explains. “We picked four men, four women, and one track was dedicated to nature and animals. We didn't go for the usual suspects. We wanted to pick people who probably weren't as well known in different cultures. We wanted to share with people whatever they did. It's more than a tribute to the people, but a tribute to whatever they did -- how they've affected us and had an impact on humanity.”

While many have labeled Rodrigo y Gabriela's virtuoso guitar music 'flamenco', Sanchez is quick to point out that -- as much as he loves flamenco -- the music they play is not the emotive Spanish folk music. “We don't play flamenco,” he says. “The techniques we use are not flamenco techniques. Flamenco is almost like a religion -- you've got to be born playing that style of music. We blend a lot of different styles, like some rhythms from South America, but we always have the rock thing underneath.”

Although Sanchez and Quintero now live on different sides of the world when they're not touring -- Sanchez lives in Oslo, Norway, and Quintero has made her home in Ixtapa, Mexico -- the duo find that the distance doesn't impede their work, and it's a good excuse to meet up in different spots around the world.

“Gabriela lives in Ixtapa, a beautiful town on the Pacific side where we have a studio,” says Sanchez. “It's a surfer's beach town. I lived there for four or five years. I go there [to record] because we have our studio there. We'll meet somewhere in the middle for pre-production. After so many years of working together we know exactly how to do it [long-distance].”

In addition to touring and writing albums, Rodrigo y Gabriela have expanded their repertoire to scoring films. They collaborated on the soundtracks to “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” and “Puss N' Boots”, and are currently considering another exciting film project, which is under wraps for the time being.

With their world tour in full swing and some collaboration in the works, Sanchez says Rodrigo y Gabriela's schedule is nearly full until next September, but he also notes that they strive to find time for things in their lives outside of music. “It's important to realise that life is out there,” says Sanchez. “We have to find a balance, and spend time with family and friends.”

Source: Yahoo! Music