Interview: Rodrigo Sanchez

HKT: What was it like playing in Mexico City as you were growing up - what were your first gigs like? We’ve heard rumours that both you and Gabriela have a background in heavy metal.

Rodrigo Sanchez: In the 1990s, when we were playing in heavy metal bands it was still very underground. Heavy metal is quite popular in Mexico and South American countries in general. My brother was the bass player in our band, and Gab was in the same bunch of kids who were all playing music together in the same groups. We spent more time rehearsing than playing gigs - if we had one gig a month that was busy. It lasted about four to five years before we left Mexico and went to Europe.

HKT: How did you go from playing in Mexico City to the streets of Dublin? 

RS: A friend of ours told us that Dublin was a very musical city and we sort of just believed her. We went there and it was exactly that, it was great for us. We started playing acoustic music in Ireland - and it all kind of started there. We began playing what people now expect of us - rock, Latin-influenced, but really music across many genres. We experienced what it was like to play on the street and it made us learn a lot as musicians. I think that’s the best kind of learning - the ones where you really need to concentrate in order to keep your ego down.

HKT: How have things changed now that you’ve become international stars - how is your music accepted back in Mexico?

RS: It’s very different now, we never had to come back to Mexico and do lots of media to create a buzz to play gigs and sell tickets. It’s weird because we are treated a little like a foreign band. We don’t really have that liaison with the industry here. It feels like coming to another country for us. 

HKT: What are some of the most memorable gigs you’ve played?

RS: Recently though, we just played one of the best shows in Paris. It was a 7,000 capacity venue and it was sold out but we felt the energy was really there for everyone to enjoy the show.

HKT: You are known for playing extremely fast, acoustic guitars. What type of guitars do you both use?

RS: The guitars are very delicate but very well-maintained by Yamaha Japan as they are custom-made. We both use modified versions of current models that we had a hand in designing. I use a Yamaha NTX1200R and Gab uses a Yamaha NCX2000R. The system is still very complicated though to keep up. We have a whole lot of cameras that are positioned on the guitars and around us to give the audience a different view of us playing, so there is a big technical team behind us.

HKT: Your most recent album was “Area 52” - tell us about the album and its inspirations.

RS: We really experienced something new with this album. We had just done music for soundtracks and contributed towards two films (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Puss in Boots) and we were working with the LA Philharmonic for the Hollywood Ball so we were kind of sharing music with a lot of musicians for the first time. We felt like it was a good idea to go to Cuba and rework some of our old tracks and see what happened there. We didn’t really want to tour but we ended up touring for eight months in the end. The original plan was to go there and meet all these musicians and just play music.

HKT: So what’s next?

RS: Now we are back working on a new album with just me and Gab, two guitars and that’s it. We’ve got all these new sounds and experiences over the last two or three years that we never had before. It’s part of our plan in the future that we want to go forward and do new things, visit new places and be able to capture people’s tastes and go back and work on our new album.

HKT: When you’re not playing, what do you like to listen to at home?

RS: I still listen to a lot of rock, but I also like Indian music, classical, jazz. I just bought the new Soundgarden album so I still listen to the old metal bands when I have time, because that’s the kind of music that inspired me to play guitar. It was amazing when we first started to play in the US because when we first got exposure from the media, these metal bands and their community gave us such a fantastic response which was really nice because although it might have sounded like just two Latin guitar players, they really understood our roots and where we were coming from and what our influences were.

HKT: What’s your favourite thing to do when you come back home after a tour?

RS: In my case, I just want to see my cats. Honestly. And I think Gab is like me too - we both love animals so much.

HKT: Both you and Gabriela are vegan - have you got any favourite vegan foods that particularly stand out?

RS: There’s this vegan cheese which is amazing. It’s made in Switzerland by a family who used to make normal cheese but now only make vegan food. It’s called Vegusto No Moo cheese. I’m also really excited to hear there is a Loving Hut chain of restaurants in Hong Kong - I love the one in Paris.