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Rodrigo y Gabriela have developed completely unique sound. The fleet-fingered guitar duo have been playing for over two decades and continue to develop music that transcends labels. Over the years they have taken inspiration from their travels, starting in their 20’s when Rodrigo Sanchez and Grabriela Quintero met in Mexico City playing metal music to when they traveled with their acoustic guitars across the world to Dublin, the “street musician capitol” of the world. Growing up playing music by their metal heroes, they are now called upon by metal guitar masters like Grammy Award winning shredder, Marty Friedman, to add their unique acoustic twist to the mix.

They are a perfect match in Alex Skolnick’s Planetary Coalition. In Alex’s own words, the project is “An ethnically flavored collective of musicians from all over the world, driven by acoustic guitar and bringing together inspirational melodies, in-depth improvisation and the passion of the musical styles of Gypsy, Middle Eastern, Indian, Latin, East Asian, Mediterranean, Balkan/Eastern European, African and other indigenous lands.”

Rodrigo y Gabriela first met Alex Skolnick when they were on the road. Alex jammed with the duo frequently and they made plans to collaborate, leading to Rodrigo y Gabriela’s 2009 album, 11:11. The track, “Atman” features blistering solos and helped to further develop a wonderful relationship between these tremendous guitar players. Rodrigo remembers, “It was an unforgettable session, and he played an amazing solo.”

Over the years, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Alex stayed in touch. When ideas for Alex’s first acoustic world music collaboration were in the works, Rodrigo y Gabriela were an obvious choice. On Planetary Coalition, “Playa La Ropa” features Rodrigo y Gabriela navigating Alex’s rhythmically driven and snaky melodic lines. The track is propelled forward with textures from Gabriela’s fiery rhythmic approach and climaxes with an epic guitar duel between Alex and Rodrigo, resulting in some of the best guitar playing on record.



Planetary Coalition has been submitted for consideration to the 58th Grammy Awards. Find out about all ArtistShare artists submitted here.