You don’t have to sing to captivate an audience. More and more music artists are exhibiting this concept in their work in the realm of experimental and ambient, such as Sigur Ros, yet many artists don’t dedicate an entire album to just instrumental and no vocal elements. That being said, those artists who do feature only instrumental elements in their works hardly ever use only one instrument.
Rodrigo y Gabriela are a Dublin-based duo that are Mexican born and specialize in the acoustic guitar. These two keep it simple by commanding a stage with just an acoustic guitar in both of their hands, perched atop wooden stools. Neither Rodrigo Sanchez or Gabriela Quintero sing in their high-intensity acoustic songs, but that doesn’t seem to take anything away from the musical quality.
The sound that is heard from Rodrigo y Gabriela would be the effect of throwing Metallica and flamenco guitar into a blender. The double acoustic guitars do not produce a calm sound as they typically would, yet instead are intricate, fast-paced and intense.
The band describes themselves as acoustic, folk and metal, even though there are no electric guitars, drums or bass being used. However, the sound that is produced is reminiscent of a metal band, such as Metallica or Megadeath.
Rodrigo y Gabriela’s track “Tamacun” is a fast, heart-pounding song that is a whirlwind of Rodrigo and Gabriela’s quick fingers and intricate guitar work. Knocking on the wooden acoustic produces the effect of drums.
The track “Diablo Rojo” certainly plays out like its name. The song has a dubious sound to it, and is also fast-paced.
“Stairway to Heaven” is slightly more slow-paced than other tracks, and builds in and out within itself through the song.
Here is a live performance of “Stairway to Heaven” provided by youtube.com The intensity of Rodrigo and Gabriela’s fierce finger work on the guitar can be seen through this video.
Rodrigo y Gabriela have been gaining popularity and have been on MTV’s Total Request Live and have performed on various other shows. Here is a live performance of “Diablo Rojo” on the David Letterman show provided by youtube.com.
Rodrigo y Gabriela had to cancel the rest of their tour dates because Gabriela is suffering from exhaustion. Those dates include included September 7 at the Rialto here in Tucson and September 8 at the Marquee Theater in Tempe. For more tour dates that are not affected by this break, check out their myspace page.
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