Hermanos Gutiérrez are having a moment. It isn’t their first, and it certainly won’t be their last, but the Swiss-Ecuadorian guitar-playing brothers are riding high this week in March when I catch up with them. They’re in Los Angeles to shoot a pair of videos for tracks from Sonido Cósmico, their sixth album and second for Easy Eye Sound, the label owned and operated by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. But that’s not all: Two nights before the 96th Academy Awards, the duo served as the entertainment at an exclusive Oscars pre-party in the Hollywood Hills hosted by Yves Saint Laurent.
“No, I don’t think so,” Estevan, the elder of the two, replies when I ask if recent YSL models Diana Ross and Michael Stipe were in the house. “But Sharon Stone was there, and Chrstopher Nolan and the whole Oppenheimer cast. It was amazing, and it was such an honor to be there. We played there for a bit more than an hour.”
All of this makes sense. In case you haven’t heard the music of Hermanos Gutiérrez, it’s the perfect soundtrack for a Spaghetti Western (are you listening, Robert Rodriguez?) or a star-studded celebrity cocktail party (two days later, Nolan and the cast and crew of Oppenheimer went on to dominate the Oscars). While all of that was thrilling, what Hermanos Gutiérrez are really excited about at this moment is the Rose Bowl Flea Market, which takes place on the second Sunday of every month in Pasadena. The duo has been to LA before, but their schedule hasn’t matched up with the date of one of the world’s most famous swap meets until now. The only problem? Our interview was scheduled for Sunday morning at their hotel. But when the request comes to move it to the Rose Bowl, I promptly agree. Who am I to deny them their pleasure?
Of course, this will present at least one potential problem. How will we meet among the throngs of thousands of bargain shoppers and collectors? It’s not like they’re U2 or The Rolling Stones, two of the acts I’ve seen perform inside this very stadium. Through a series of text messages, one of their handlers lets me know that the brothers are at the Rose Bowl gates, buying tickets. Turns out our meeting is easier than expected. Estevan, in his vintage red jacket with the name “Jed” embroidered on the front, does indeed stand out. He’s also sporting a turquoise belt buckle, a matching necklace, and dangling earrings. Alejandro is a little less conspicuous in his beige short-sleeve shirt. Both share a love of vintage gear, which has brought them out to the Rose Bowl on this day. Both brothers also sport Levi’s with huge cuffs on the bottom and boots, cool retro shades, mustaches, and are armed with cameras strapped to their body. They kind of look like hipster tourists—which, in a sense, they are.
“Dan [Auerbach] never tried to change our sound or change us. He wants to bring our music to another level, but he’s so respectful.” — Estevan Gutiérrez
The official website for the flea market has a celebrity photo gallery. “The flea market attracts 20,000 buyers every month, including celebrities and interior designers,” it reads above photos of the likes of Angelina Jolie, Amber Heard, and Cameron Diaz. A photo of Hermanos Gutiérrez isn’t likely to appear on the site any time soon, and no one seems to recognize them as we stroll around the outer rim of the Rose Bowl, glancing at what the vendors have to offer. Estevan asks if we’d like a lemonade and generously purchases a drink for Alejandro and me, and then suggests we sit down at a nearby picnic table to take care of business.
Sonido Cósmico was recorded at Easy Eye Sound in Nashville, with Auerbach once again producing and playing on a few tracks. “We wanted him to be more present on this record, because it’s a different relationship,” says Alejandro. “We trust him way more than we did on the first record. So it was just even more a privilege and an honor to have him more present on this record. And it felt very natural.”
“It’s such an honor to work with him, to see how he works as a musician and as a producer and now as a friend,” adds Estevan. “Dan never tried to change our sound or change us. He wants to bring our music to another level, but he’s so respectful. Nobody’s putting pressure that we need to do this or change this.”
As proof, later in our conversation Estevan reveals that the brothers demoed the entire album at their home studio in Zurich before heading to Nashville. He then plays me a voice memo on his phone of the album’s title track, and it sounds remarkably like the finished project.
Before hooking up with Easy Eye and Auerbach, Hermanos Gutiérrez issued their first four albums by themselves. When the meeting with Auerbach came, it was via Zoom. “He was in the studio,” Alenjandro recalls. “It was like a 10-minute conversation where it was clear that we wanted to do something together. And he was like, ‘Yeah.’”
“We’re not singers. Coming from this classical kind of influence and film score, we just always envisioned creating songs without lyrics.” — Alejandro Gutiérrez
Estevan started playing guitar in second grade while growing up in Zurich, focusing on an Argentinian folk style known as Milonga on an acoustic guitar with nylon strings. When he was 25, he traveled to Ecuador to spend a year with relatives on his mother’s side of the family. “When I came back after that year, he suddenly could play guitar,” Estevan says of Alejandro. “He learned during my stay in Ecuador and then we started playing together, just for fun. We kind of reconnected through music.” Alejandro learned from watching YouTube videos of some of his favorite musicians, including Jack Johnson.
Interestingly, the brothers never considered singing. “We’re not singers,” says Alejandro (“Not at all,” Estevan adds). “Coming from this classical kind of influence and film score, we just always envisioned creating songs without lyrics.” I bring up Rodrigo y Gabriela, another Latin instrumental duo, who might be their only true contemporaries. Estevan points to another duo from the late ’50s. “A big influence is also Santo & Johnny,” he says. “Once a fan came up to us and said, ‘You’re like Santo & Johnny, but badass.’ That was so cool because we love Santo & Johnny, and they were also brothers.”
While it remains to be seen whether Hermanos Gutiérrez will ever score a hit like Santo & Johnny’s 1959 chart-topper “Sleep Walk,” in a sense, the duo is already a remarkable success. Hermanos Gutiérrez has already landed impressive spots on the festival circuit, playing such notable gatherings as Coachella. It’s a remarkable feat for an instrumental combo without a drummer or singer, even if they were joined by guitarist Adrian Quesada of the Black Pumas on a few songs. They also recently opened a tour for like-minded souls Khruangbin, whose Laura Lee guested with the brothers at one of their two sold-out gigs at Brooklyn Steel.
In the past, Hermanos Gutiérrez have shunned the idea of possibly collaborating with a vocalist. Now, however, they’re more open to other possibilities, seeing how fellow instrumentalists Khruangbin successfully joined forces with Leon Bridges. “In the beginning, I think we were more conscious about that—not having singers or any kind of collaborations—but now seeing how it is and what energy it brings to each project with Dan, we find it interesting to have other people bringing their own stuff and kind of mixing with our music,” Alejandro says. “So right now we’re open. It should just feel natural and right, and obviously we want to be fans of the people that want to collaborate. So, we’ll see.”
Now, however, there’s some shopping to be done. They heard a friend has a stand with some nice stuff, so Hermanos Gutiérrez is on the move. FL
