Back in 2006, this writer took a little-known Mexican acoustic duo busking in Camden Town for a guitar magazine feature. Even without a licence, Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero couldn’t get arrested (although they did make a solid £58).
It’s fair to say the pair have moved up in the world since then, with their six-album catalogue, Grammys, soundtrack work for Pirates Of The Caribbean, and even a private audience for a US President (not the current one, obviously).
Now, as Rodrigo Y Gabriela release back-to-basics seventh album OurHome – its quicksilver lead lines and thundering guitar-body percussion hinting at their longtime thrash-metal fandom – Sánchez can’t help acknowledging that “it’s been quite a journey”.
You’ve said this latest album came from a difficult creative period. What happened?
Rodrigo Sánchez: We worked on this album for over two years, and it started out with a different set of tunes. We went to LA, worked with this amazing, very famous producer. But we did some demos, and it was like: “No, this is not it.” We took everything back, had to apologise to the producer and say: “These are not the songs, man.”
What got you back on track?
RS: When we came back to our studio, our beloved kitty, Pelusa, passed. Next day, I wrote something for her, just this simple melody on acoustic guitar. That song became the title track for OurHome. That started it all.
Gabriela Quintero: The last album was all backing tracks and electric guitars. But when we lost Pelusa, and Rod came with that melody, for me it was like her saying: “Stop fucking around. Go back to your acoustic guitars, be real, and go for it.”
How did you come to record in Japan?
RS: Back in the day, we’d talk to musicians that had been to Japan, and they either loved it or hated it. We happened to love it. So I said to our label: “What if we record in Japan?”
GQ: It was breaking our own rules, but also the industry-standard rule that you have to go to Los Angeles or New York. We said let’s do something entirely different. We love the sakura trees. We went to the sumo. We saw the thousand-year-old temples. When we go to Japan, we touch that place within us that I call the ‘nectar’.
What’s the significance of the album title?
GQ: As a species, we live in chaotic times, politically, ecologically, emotionally, morally. So that title is a way to say: “This is our fucking home,” y’know? I believe human beings are like robots sometimes. We repeat the same patterns of injustice. The song Somos Como Tu means ‘We are like you’. It’s a compassion, empathic thing. To me, the plants, trees and animals are screaming that too. We all need to behave with our planet and community. We all need to help people in trouble, to take a little action every day. The album cover is a photo we took in Melbourne. It’s a building where refugees live, from all over the world.
You’re a well-travelled band.
RS: The other day someone asked how many countries we’ve played, and I counted fifty.
GQ: The weirdest gig was at this tiny church in the Welsh mountains. It was freezing. We were playing up at the altar [with our eyes closed], having a moment of peace. Then we realised the lady in charge of the church was stood in front of us with a tray of tea.
What’s the most money you ever made in one day from busking?
RS: Sometimes we’d play for forty minutes in Dublin and get a hundred pounds. Back then there were only ten buskers on Grafton Street and we were like a family. I remember one time there was a bunch of Irish kids who played trad music, and after their turn they threw all their money into our fucking case. How nice is that?
GQ: But I remember one guy in a wheelchair. He was really fast, and as he went by he robbed us – scooped a bunch of coins out of our case.
Police around the world can be assholes, y’know? The Irish police were cool with us. But when we were busking in Copenhagen, there was this Danish police chief. He was so strict. He didn’t want us to sell CDs or bring amplifiers. So we got this homeless guy to help us. He was always drunk, and he was like: “Fuck the police. You guys can play now, he’s not here.” Then he’d say: “Here he comes!” and we’d pack everything up.
Was it a good move for the two of you to end your romantic relationship in 2012?
RS: I think it was. Now, we’re very good friends.
GQ: We’re more like brother and sister.
Playing at the White House in 2010 must have been a thrill?
GQ: That was insane. We’d just done a big tour, and we were destroyed, because we’d played seventy shows, no days off. Then our management got the call. Originally we thought we’d just be background music. But we were frisked by the Men In Black and brought into this room full of photographers. And there were Barack and Michelle Obama saying: “Oh, Rodrigo and Gabriela!” and hugging us. It felt like some cheesy dream.
What’s your advice on getting from the street to stadiums?
RS: It’s a different world for musicians now. It’s difficult to see so many people playing music on your phone and not compare yourself. So don’t do that. I know it’s hard for young people to turn their phones off, not to look at screens and to really focus on your craft, but that’s my true advice. Just do what you really feel and don’t look at anybody else. Don’t even listen. Stop listening to other people’s music. Just do what you have in your heart.
Did England deserve to beat Mexico in the World Cup?
RS: Yeah, we don’t care too much.
GQ: You’re forgiven. Sports isn’t on my radar at all.
OurHome is out now via ATO Records.
