Rodrigo y Gabriela’s album Area 52 made with Sibelius and Pro Tools

Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, also known as Rod y Gab, released their latest studio album, Area 52, this past January, and are currently touring Europe to promote the record, with dates in the United States in April. The pair worked with arranger and pianist Alex Wilson on the album, which saw them travel to Cuba to work with a 13-piece orchestra. Alex told me:

“I needed to be able to react quickly to requests for major revisions during the recording sessions at Havana’s Abdala studios, and I was able to realise this with my Mac Book Pro, Sibelius and Canon portable printer – we even brought along our own paper and ink! The artists contacted me at the beginning of the year as they had the idea of having their hits arranged in a Cuban style and needed a collaborator. I live in Switzerland and they live in Mexico, so the project started as demos on Pro Tools and then shortly before the recording migrated to Sibelius. The tunes were further refined at the artists’ studio in Mexico before we flew to Cuba to record. In preparation for this year’s touring I have upgraded to Sibelius 7 – and it looks great!”

This week, Rod y Gab have been in Dublin, their adopted home after they moved to Europe to try their luck as a duo in 2005, and tomorrow night they will be playing in London at the sold out Brixton Academy. The pair hit the United States on 3 April with a concert in Seattle, WA, and they finish up in Austin, TX on 5 May. Check out the complete list of tour dates on their web site.

As for Alex, he’s touring with the pair, and in his down time he’s working in Sibelius 7 on the score for his acclaimed Concerto for Kora and Piano.