El Bueno Y El Malo

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Hermanos Gutiérrez | Interview | New Album, ‘El Bueno Y El Malo’ Hermanos Gutiérrez is a two-piece band formed of the brothers Alejandro and Estevan Gutiérrez. Taking influence from 1950’s Latin America sound they transfer the listeners to journeys through beautiful landscapes. The sons of a Swiss father and an Ecuadorian mother, Hermanos Gutiérrez have only been playing together for a few years, but music has always been a point of connection for them. “I started playing guitar because of my brother,” Alejandro says. “He was always playing, and I loved the sound of it. Then he went to Ecuador for a year, and as an expression of missing him, I started playing the guitar as well. I learned by trying to imitate other songs, but soon realized that I didn’t like playing covers. I wanted to play my own music.” We would say that we consider Ennio Morricone’s music scores as a main influence, rather than Sergio Leone as a director. Obviously the two worked together on several occasions and some of Leon’s movies wouldn’t be the same without Morricone’s musical contribution. I guess it was that instant connection of our first single ‘El Bueno Y El Malo’, that melody which reminded us of those spaghetti western melodies, the one’s which became famous for specific movies. “We always have our clear ideas of how a song should sound” We always have our clear ideas of how a song should sound. We believe every song should have a first solid base. A base which makes it then possible to play with in the studio. I mean you also have to be aware that the studio setting is totally different than simply rehearsing at home. Some things might not work as intended, some things might be missing. So therefore, we always try to have an open mindset once we get into the studio. The most important thing to us before getting into the studio is that every song should have its own spirit, its own story to tell. Working with Dan for the first time was enriching in so many ways, because we could access a wider range of musical layers. It was really about adding subtle things and therefore to enrich our songs in a delicate but meaningful way. Started a few years earlier, Hermanos Gutiérrez began releasing music on their own, all of which gained traction in 2020. “My brother and I”, says Estevan, “we did everything by ourselves— all the music, even the artwork. But during Covid, our music was streamed all over the world”, especially their 2020 album, ‘Hijos del Sol’. Perhaps because people were looking for an escape from their worries or were traveling to new landscapes without leaving their homes, the music of Hermanos Gutiérrez spread by word of mouth, eventually finding its way to Auerbach. After a twenty-minute conversation, they signed with Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Records and started writing songs for their forthcoming album.

I, Estevan, started to play the classic guitar (Milongas & Boleros). Dilermando Reis was a Brazilian guitar player from the 40s/50s which had a big influence on my style. How did you two decide to start a project together? What was growing up like for you? Do you come from a musical family? While the format might sound limited, it’s not at all —the songs drift by in an unhurried, almost impressionist fashion, segueing gently from one to the next, with moments standing out more than individual songs. The brothers mix up the approach, with one anchoring the rhythm with a gentle arpeggio or bass-like melody, keeping time with a soft tap on the strings, while the other carries the main melody. Like their previous releases, it’s the kind of album you can put on and leave on all day, and the relatively amorphous nature of the songs helps make it not feel repetitive. Perhaps because people were looking for an escape from their worries or were traveling to new landscapes without leaving their homes, the music of Hermanos Gutiérrez spread by word of mouth, eventually finding its way to Auerbach. After a twenty-minute conversation, they signed with Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Records and started writing songs for their forthcoming album.I really love the reference to Sergio Leone’s legendary 1966 spaghetti western The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. In what ways has Leone influenced your music? Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

Oh yeah, definitely. We could have written way more albums using all those sketches which didn’t feel right. But we believe it’s exactly about that. In so many moments you have to reject some sketches to get to the right thing, to get to the bottom of it. Once you get there it just feels right. We honor the process of rejecting and evolving ideas. Photo by Jim Herrington

Two brothers, two guitars, two distinct identities, who become one soul when they compose music. Stephan and Alejandro, are the Hermanos Gutierrez, an instrumental music band with an unmistakable genre that is rooted in Western and Latin American sound. Born from an Ecuadorian mother and a Swiss father they grew up being forged by both cultures, bridging between two worlds, both of which are home. We don’t think we ever intended to create music with a timeless quality. It feels so difficult to try that intentionally! We’re just making the kind of music we love and within our capacities. We just wish we can pass on this music to future generations and inspire them to create their own thing. Just the way we got inspired by so many musicians in our life. Playing together since their early childhood, a profound musical and interpersonal symbiosis ties the two brothers. If one of them has a melody, the other one completes it with harmony. There is a deep understanding between the two of them, without any need for words. To work with Dan was simply stunning. He has such a talent as a musician and as a producer. We connected with him from the first moment. On ‘Tres Hermanos’ he heard a melody over the bridge. So we invited him to play and he just came with this specific melody and it blew our minds!

Dan Auerbach signed you to his label Easy Eye Sound, how did he get to know your music? Are you excited about the new album?

The album captures 10 songs, release date is October 28th 2022. It’s a new story we want to tell and share with the people. We wanted to write songs in a desert and dreamy landscape with the focus on us two as brothers, and while rehearsing the songs before flying to Nashville we came up with this melody for the first single ‘El Bueno y El Malo”’- and it kinda set the mood for the whole album. We wanted to write something which felt fun and deep at the same time, without distancing ourselves too much from the universe we created by ourselves for the last 6 years. Started a few years earlier, Hermanos Gutiérrez began releasing music on their own, all of which gained traction in 2020. “My brother and I,” says Estevan, “we did everything by ourselves— all the music, even the artwork. But during COVID, our music was streamed all over the world,” especially their 2020 album, Hijos del Sol. Their success is proof that unique and imaginative music will find its audience. “My brother and I,” says Estevan, “we did everything by ourselves— all the music, even the artwork. But during Covid, our music was streamed all over the world,” especially their 2020 album, Hijos del Sol. Perhaps because people were looking for an escape from their worries or were traveling to new landscapes without leaving their homes, the music of Hermanos Gutiérrez spread by word of mouth, eventually finding its way to Auerbach. After a twenty-minute conversation, they signed with Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Records and started writing songs for their forthcoming album. Then he went to Ecuador for a year, and as an expression of missing him, I started playing the guitar as well. I learned by trying to imitate other songs, but soon realized that I didn’t like playing covers. I wanted to play my own music.” I, Alejandro was mostly inspired by my brother at my younger age. Listening to him made me buy my own guitar. I came across so many talented musicians collecting vinyl in the last few years, but I never felt drawn to a particular style of a specific guitar player. I never liked to play covers and wanted therefore always to find my own style of playing the guitar. But I definitely look up to Gustavo Santaolalla, Ry Cooder, Mark Knopfler, J.J. Cale, Alessandro Alessandroni, Los Indios Tabajaras and Enrique Delgado from Los Destellos.El Bueno Y El Malo is their most epic journey yet: working with Dan Auerbach at his Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville, they’ve crafted ten vivid compositions that highlight their intimate guitar playing, where one brother’s rhythms and the other brother’s melodies twine around each other so that they become inextricable. Together, they generate what Estevan calls a “deeper, darker energy” defined by complex arrangements, sophisticated playing, and most of all their very close relationship. What are some of the most important players that influenced your own style and what in particular did they employ in their playing that you liked? We didn’t know what it would be like working with someone else,” says Alejandro. “But sometimes those moments can be crucial. They can bring new energy into a project. That can be very inspiring, but still, how is it going to work?” Have you ideas that refuse to step through the door with you? And what do you do with those sketches?