Spanish guitar wizards Rodrigo y Gabriela have announced a new album to be released on January 24 of 2012. The duo will drop Area 52 on ATO Records early next year. Regarding the album name, Rodrigo indicated it was related to the famous alien site:

“The album is called Area 52 because we felt like Mulder and Scully approaching this — it was just a crazy idea, to see if a big Cuban band could play our music, a step in the dark. We knew it was out there, everyone has heard of Area 51, but we wanted to take it a little further. We saw it as a trip into the unknown, an experiment. Okay we knew the producer, and had spoken to the arranger on Skype; but we didn’t know the musicians or the studio, or Cuba for that matter.”

Moreover, the theme of Cuban music seems to be a prevalent one. Not only did the duo record in Cuba, but it seems they included Cuban musicians on the album:

“We have great love and respect for the well known Cuban musicians, but it was really important for us to seek out the best young players in Havana. Our music is high energy, high intensity; and we wanted guys who could interpret our vision and match our approach.”