Audio By Carbonatix
First things first: Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela doesn’t play flamenco. Its mostly acoustic music features a bit of flamenco, but it’s more correct to say the pair mixes jazz, metal, and global influences. However, Rodrigo y Gabriela’s sound is expansive enough to include guest appearances: Its latest album, 11:11, features cameos from smooth jazz duo Strunz & Farah and Testament lead guitarist Alex Skolnick. The disc contains 11 tracks dedicated to its influences, including tango composer Astor Piazzolla, Palestinian group Le Trio Joubran, and Pantera’s late guitarist, Dimebag Darrell. When performing, “RodGab” is kinetic: Rodrigo Sanchez spins out melodic, occasionally distorted runs while Gabriela Quintero strums forceful chords or thumps out lightning-fast rhythms on her guitar’s hollow body. This is no sit-quietly-and-applaud-politely show — even without electricity, it’s pure energy.
