Rodrigo y Gabriela: An Interview With Two Latino Guitar Virtuosos And Their New Album '9 Dead Alive'

Rodrigo y Gabriela are a guitar duo who specialize in playing fast and beautiful guitar music. Beginning in Ireland, they have since become a worldwide phenomenon with a cult following. Their latest album, "9 Dead Alive" was recorded and produced by Rodrigo and Gabriela at their home studio in Ixtapa, creating a deeply intimate feel to their passionate sound. Latin Times spoke with Gabriela about her inspiration for creating this incredible music.

The upcoming tour is pretty long that we’re doing with this album, so we’re trying to be prepared mentally. The album has had a really great reception so far. But we are really preparing ourselves for the tour.

LT: What’s the difference between this album and the previous ones?

The difference is that this album is that we recorded it as if it was just two guitars and that’s it. So after having recorded with full orchestras and with the “Pirates of the Caribbean” and the collaboration for “Puss in Boots,” we just wanted to get back to the essence of who we are. I wanted it to sound as if Rodrigo and I were playing in your living room.

LT: Your music has really been popular across countries and age groups. Why do you think it's so transcendant?

Well I think that the guitar is a really universal instrument. Everyone likes some kind of guitar music, whether its classical or country or rock. It’s an instrument that speaks to a lot of different countries and different cultures that resonates across a lot genres. And secondly I think that the music that we make is complex to make but easy to listen to, so I think it’s very digestible. And also as our music doesn’t have lyrics, we don’t have a language per se, so it’s easier for people to listen to us. We started in Ireland and then in Europe and in the United States. So people say it must be hard for you being Latino artists to break into the U.S. market, but the thing is most Latino artists sing in Spanish, so it’s harder to communicate with an audience. But for us, the guitars speak in a universal language. So it’s easier in that sense.

LT: Why is your music so popular here in the U.S.?

I think it’s for the same reason. I think the U.S. is a very musical country with a long and rich music history, so I think it’s similar to what happened for us in Europe. A lot of people ask us why there aren’t more Latinos in our gigs, but the thing is we do have a lot of Latinos at our concerts but we also have a lot of people who aren’t Latino because that’s what we do. Our music is universal, it’s not directed to any particular culture or nationality.

LT: And where do you both live?

I live in Xihuatanejo. It’s beautiful – it’s actually really hard to leave. Rodrigo lives in Barcelona which is really great.

LT: How do you find time to work on your music?

Normally when I’m on tour I’m always working on something. I usually spend a bit of time playing something or exploring something. There’s often an hour or an hour and a half before a gig when I can play a bit, explore new things, speak with my guitar. All that material I start to compile into something. I don’t know how to do nothing – we are always generating something new.

LT: Who were the musicians that most influenced you when you were starting out?

Well more than influence us, they inspired us. Musicians like Paco de Lucia, you really have to be up to their level and so they were really an inspiration for the level of playing that we wanted to get to. Listening to musicians that are more advanced than I am is always a source of inspiration and I’m always going to try to reach that level. But I’m always going to play it with meaning – even if it’s just two notes, I’m going to play it with meaning. With a lot of feeling, being very present.

LT: How do you manage to maintain that feeling and that passion?

Well for me passion and feeling and being present existed before any language. Music expresses those things without words, so for me its easier to express myself without words.

LT: Do you play in Mexico?

We’ve played in Monterrey, Mexico City and Guadalajara. The thing is our promoters here in Mexico ask us to play once or twice year – I guess they know the market better. The thing is that despite being Mexican, we don’t really understand the music industry here because we started out in Ireland, and our whole team is American or Irish, so that’s what we really understand.

LT: Do you go back to Ireland?

Yes all the time. I think we’re going to Dublin in June. We have a very special relationship with Ireland. It was the first place we arrived in and they really welcomed us, they really adopted us. We have a very special love for Ireland.