Rodrigo Y Gabriela Honor Antonio de Torres Jurado on ‘The Soundmaker’
Rodrigo y Gabriela are looking to the past on their forthcoming album 9 Dead Alive, the duo’s first record in five years. The Mexico City guitar virtuosos cover 875 years of history on the 9-song set, and take inspiration from a different accomplished figure on each track.
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Since 2009’s 11:11, they’ve collaborated on soundtracks for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Shores and Puss N’ Boot and that cinematic flair shines on the first taste of 9 Dead Alive, “The Soundmaker.” Clocking in at nearly five minutes, the rhythmic album opener finds the nimble-fingered guitarists at their punchiest, transforming their guitars into sources of percussion and blazing through the rumbling melody.
“[The song] is a tribute to Antonio de Torres Jurado,” Rodrigo tells Rolling Stone. “He was a luthier from the 18th century, and his contribution to the world was to give the classical guitar the shape we know it now. If it wasn’t for him this album wouldn’t even exist.”
9 Dead Alive is out April 29th on ATO Records. Rodrigo Y Gabriela will be touring behind the album in the U.S. and Europe, starting May 1st in New York.
Stream “The Soundmaker” below: