BEVERLY — If you ask Rodrigo Sanchez, one half of Mexico’s nimble-fingered acoustic guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, what COVID-19 has brought him personally, it’s a spiritual enlightenment. Please be aware that this is accompanied by
The bout for Sanchez, who contracted the coronavirus early in the pandemic, came as Sanchez and creative partner Gabriela Quintero were considering how to follow up their previous album, 2019’s Metavolution. . The duo’s fifth studio album, which won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, was influenced by Sanchez and Quintero’s long-standing interest in Buddhism.
Already well along the path of spiritual exploration, Sanchez was brought to an existential crossroads by the coronavirus, with his sense of mortality upended. This led to the discovery of Advaita Vedanta, a Hindu philosophy rooted in the concept of non-dualism.
He shared this game-changing moment with Quintero in the studio he built in the remote Mexican city of Ixtapa in 2008, and it’s the creative inspiration they took for their new album, In Between Thoughts…A New World. influenced the direction.
“While I was sick and recovering, I went back to the studio and told Gab about it, and she thought I was crazy and started asking me what I was talking about.” Sanchez explained in a recent interview.
“She thought it was nonsense and I said I don’t know how to explain it, but then I started sharing things and it became shocking to her. We started producing and recording this album. We didn’t know the world would go on, so we just did what we had to do.
“Gab said in another interview recently that we were like the musicians on the Titanic. We just had to play, and we kept playing while the ship was sinking,” he said. He spoke in detail.
“We didn’t know what was going to happen, but we knew we had to do something, so we started recording. We were very inspired by this self-actualization. It was very liberating. Things were happening, and we started recording. We can’t fight it. This is what’s happening. It’s up to us to do something about it. This album is like a soundtrack.”
Recorded in February 2021, “In Between Thoughts” took six months to complete. While RyG’s trademark flamenco-flavored performances and interactions take center stage, Sánchez and Quintero also add analogue synths, mellotrons, and other electronic instruments to the mix, as well as Vienna-based composer Adam Ilyas Krück. We incorporated stylistic nuances into the process, right down to the connection. Contributing to the rich string arrangements and powerful percussion, it is a remarkable achievement in a time of strict social distancing.
Despite being just over 30 minutes long, the nine-song collection packs plenty of musical charm. Highlights of “In Between Thoughts” include “The Eye That Catches the Dream,” which begins with a delicate acoustic guitar intro and builds into a frenzied procession of pounding rhythms, before the album-closing title features an aural parry.・A wide range of products including trucks. -The driving force between RyG’s dynamic strumming and the orchestra’s bold string section.
Other songs include “Egoland”, which chugs along to a reverb-laden rhythm reminiscent of a distaffed spaghetti western vibe, and “Broken Rage” occasionally nods to the duo’s unplugged hard rock roots. What pleased Sanchez most was how organic the whole process was.
“It was a turn of events that I didn’t expect at all,” he said. “I can only imagine how Gabe and I would have had to release a record after the Grammys and without dealing with a pandemic. You’d just wonder what we would do.” I’m so glad I didn’t have to go through that. It was just pure joy and it evolved as it evolved.
“The song title refers to this. We were writing the story as we were recording it. When the album and its nine songs were completed, that’s what it was. We were also recording it as we were writing it. The process was very different. I started adding electronics, but I didn’t go into it with the intention of making a “new album.” We had no restrictions. All of that completely changed our lives. ”
Considering how happy Sanchez and Quintero are with ‘In Between Thoughts,’ it’s no surprise that their live shows will feature new music.
“We had visuals that matched the backing tracks connected via timecode to allow us to play the album as it was, so it was a completely different show,” Sanchez said.
“It’s a completely different experience. We’re doing handshakes after the show. Gabe and I have never had anything like that. We want the message to get out into the world and people to recognize something through the music and question the concept. I am very happy that you are here.”
