“I played one chord on that guitar and bought it right away”: How Hermanos Gutiérrez leveraged vintage guitar tones and Dan Auerbach's guitar tech to create a cosmic sonic palette on Barrio Hustle
Barrio Hustle is taken from the guitar duo's upcoming album Sonido Cósmico – and premiered exclusively on Guitar World
(Image credit: Andy Noël)
Guitar duo Hermanos Gutiérrez return with the tantalizing, spaghetti western-esque track Barrio Hustle, which premiers today exclusively on Guitar World.
The instrumental guitar-focused track offers a glimpse into the world of their upcoming album, Sonido Cósmico, out on Dan Aurebach's Easy Eye Sound on June 14.
The music video paints a subdued retro picture, focusing on the two guitarists and their guitars of choice, a Silvertone 1446 and a Gretsch Chet Atkins, set against an old-school late night talk show set up. Their wandering guitars are backdropped by shimmering foil fringe curtains and a gritty filmic quality.
Speaking about why he opted for a 1963 Silvertone 1446, Alejandro Gutiérrez says, “I found it online on a website from Finland. Sounds strange and risky, so I knew it'll be a hit or miss situation. Chris Isaak used to play this guitar and holds it on one of his album covers. But with time I experienced it as a cool guitar for me. The mini humbuckers are very quiet and perfect for the silent moments of our live sets.”
He continues, “I was lucky to get a full treatment of Dan Auerbach's tech guy, Dan Johnson, during the recordings of our El Bueno Y El Malo, back in 2022. He refretted it, made a custom shape for my Bigsby, lowered the strings to a level where I can get the most of the guitar with my style of playing. It has a special sound, and I haven't found one with a similar feeling.”
His brother Estevan leveraged a 1960s Gretsch Chet Akins to add another layer to the song's tapestry. “Last year, I found the OG [guitar] in Switzerland in a garage store 20 [miles] from where I grew up,” he says. “The guy selling it was a collector. He bought it in the '70s in the US and barely played it. I played one chord on that guitar and bought it right away. The feeling of having found the perfect instrument sound-wise and shape-wise is an incredible feeling.”
Although they were raised in Switzerland, Alejandro and Estevan Gutiérrez still embrace their Ecuadoran roots through their West-meets-Latin-inspired music. This song in particular owes its sound to Peruvian Cumbia tracks from the '60s and '70s and salsa.
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“The combination between catchy Latin-rooted melodies with the wah-wah effect sounded very visionary to me for that time period,” remarks Alejandro. “I tried to incorporate that sound for my part of Barrio Hustle, by playing tribute to those cumbia melodies from Peru.”
Estevan also sought to incorporate a subtle rhythmic hint of old-school hip-hop in this track. “My style of playing is a mix between fingerpicking, bass line and percussion,” he says. “My influence come from the Salsa tones that I love. But I'm also a huge fan of '90s old-school hip-hop. Sometimes I hear a bit of a hip-hop beat in my style of playing.”
Hermanos Gutiérrez recently supported fellow mood-makers Khraungbin on the first few dates of the latter's A LA SALA North American tour. The duo will soon kick off their Sonido Cósmicoalbum tour with a show in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 31.
Hermanos GutieÌrrez - Full Performance (Live on KEXP) - YouTube
Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.
