RODRIGO Y GABRIELA
If Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero wanted to feel like they were going up in the world, the ultra-modern offices of their new record label, BMG, would be a good place to start. It’s been a long journey for Rodrigo y Gabriela from the their native Mexico City to relaxing on mid-century modern sofas while looking out over London’s urban sprawl far below, but it’s a journey that’s clearly at the forefront of the duo’s minds as we sit down together.
“Today is exactly 20 years since we first landed in Ireland,” Rodrigo says, disbelief palpable in his voice. “We wanted to make a living in music. We didn’t know if that would come just through playing in bars–we didn’t care, we just wanted to make music.”
The pair are both in their 40s now, and have come a long way from busking on the streets of Dublin. Played the Royal Albert Hall? Tick. Performed for President Obama? Tick. Sold a million records? Tick. And yet it’s clear the attitude the pair exhibited at the beginning is the root of their success.
“We were so focused,” Rod affirms. “We’d practise six or seven hours a day trying to improve our technique and we started writing music without any expectations. But being so focused then, what does it tell you? It says that we weren’t living in the past, we weren’t living in
