Watch Rodrigo y Gabriela’s Surreal “Descending To Nowhere” Music Video

Rodrigo y Gabriela
(Image credit: Ebru Yildiz)

Rodrigo y Gabriela’s 2019 album, Mettavolution, drew considerable praise worldwide. In fact, the acoustic duo picked up a Grammy award the following year for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.

Adventurous and experimental, the LP included the use of electric guitar and effects (check out this stunning interpretation of the Pink Floyd epic “Echoes”) while reconnecting to their hardscrabble, street-playing roots.

Bristling with energy, Mettavolution harks back to the turn of the millennium, when Rodrigo y Gabriela ditched their old thrasher electrics for acoustic guitars, left Mexico City to busk on the streets of Dublin, Ireland, and eventually became an international sensation.

“It’s always good to reconnect with the essence of what inspired you in the beginning,” percussive rhythm guitar guru Gabriela Quintero told Guitar Player.

Rodrigo y Gabriela 'In Between Thoughts... A New World’ album artwork

(Image credit: ATO Records)

Following up 2019’s Mettavolution, Rodrigo y Gabriela’s new album, In Between Thoughts... A New World, is slated to arrive on Friday, April 21 via ATO Records.

Described as “spontaneously composed,” In Between Thoughts... A New World continues to broaden the guitar virtuosos’ sonic palette with electronic and orchestral elements while aiming to expand the listener’s consciousness.

Recorded at their studio in Ixtapa, Mexico, Rodrigo y Gabriela’s self-produced album is heralded by the lead single, “Descending To Nowhere” – a vibrant track rendered all the more colorful by a psychedelic music video directed by Mexican filmmaker/broadcaster Olallo Rubio.

“The video is based on a specific chapter/segment of a storyline written by Rodrigo y Gabriela where a character has a spiritual journey towards non-dualism,” says Rubio. “So this video is just a small part of a larger story. They always imagined this world in animation, but we thought it’d be conceptually interesting to start in this dark, bleak, live action world and then enter the animated universe in color.

“I called artists Andy Butler (British) and Pogo (Mexican), with whom I worked before on a documentary about Alejandro Jodorowsky (the Chilean multi-disciplinary artist) because I knew they’d understand the spiritual/surreal concept we were developing.”

Visit the Rodrigo y Gabriela website for more information.

Rod Brakes

Rod Brakes is a music journalist with an expertise in guitars. Having spent many years at the coalface as a guitar dealer and tech, Rod's more recent work as a writer covering artists, industry pros and gear includes contributions for leading publications and websites such as GuitaristTotal Guitar, Guitar WorldGuitar Player and MusicRadar in addition to specialist music books, blogs and social media. He is also a lifelong musician.

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