In the period following 2009’s 11:11, acoustic rock maestros Rodrigo Y Gabriela began exploring creative opportunities outside the traditional album release cycle. They collaborated on the soundtracks for both Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Shores and Puss N’ Boots, and visited Havana to record 2011’s Area 52 compilation. Now, five years later, the pair is finally ready to release an album of entirely original material in 9 Dead Alive, due out April 29th via ATO Records.
The nine-track effort was self-produced by the duo at their studio in Ixtapa, Mexico, then mixed by Andrew Scheps (Black Sabbath, Adele, Metallica) in Los Angeles. According to a press release, the album sees the pair “playing face to face, guitar versus guitar, bursting with melodic energy and rhythmic invention. The album captures the warmth and spontaneity of two great musicians locked in together; perfectly distilled into nine new songs teeming with desire, elegance and gusto.”
The press released adds, “Each of the songs on the album is a personal celebration of individuals who have passed on, but through their deeds and words still resonate in the 21st century. Going as far back as Eleanor of Acquitaine (1122 – 1204) all the way through history to include Viktor Frankl (1905 – 1997), this diverse and fascinating list will strike a chord with anyone familiar with (Rodrigo y Gabriela’s) passion for human rights, literature, history and philosophy.”
Check out the album trailer below, which includes a brief interview and several snippets, followed by the album’s tracklist along with the influences for each song.
9 Dead Alive Tracklist:
01. The Soundmaker (inspired by Antonio de Torres Jurado: 1817 – 1892)
02. Torito (inspired by animals and nature)
03. Sunday Neurosis (inspired by Viktor Frankl: 1905 – 1997)
04. Misty Moses (inspired by Harriet Tubman: 1820 – 1913)
05. Somnium (inspired by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: 1651 – 1695)
06. Fram (inspired by Fridtjof Nansen: 1861 – 1930)
07. Megalopolis (inspired by Gabriela Mistral: 1889 – 1957)
08. The Russian Messenger (inspired by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: 1821 – 1881)
09. La Salle Des Pas Perdus (inspired by Eleanor of Acquitane: 1122 – 1204)
