El Bueno Y El Malo

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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.” That initial take set the tone for the sessions: They worked on the fly, hewing closely to the songs they had brought over from Switzerland while remaining open to any and all new ideas. “We came to Nashville with a clear sense of what we wanted to do,” says Alejandro. “The more structure you have, the more you can improvise. You can feel prepared, but also open to changes. Nobody tried to impose an idea or change our essence. It was all about adding subtle things and enriching the whole—expanding this universe we had created.” El Bueno Y El Malo gently expands their sound, retaining the foundation while adding drums, castanets, strings, and congas. The additions are more than subtle; they’re subliminal. They focus the attention on the two main figures and the intricate, almost telepathic interplay of their instruments.

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 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. 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 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?” How did you two decide to start a project together? What was growing up like for you? Do you come from a musical family? 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”

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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. 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.