Though some celebrities draw back from the subject of their well-known dad and mom, that is by no means been the case for Mau y Ricky. The Venezuelan singer-songwriters are the sons of Latine pop icon Ricardo Montaner. Nonetheless, the expertise within the Montaner household would not finish with Mau, Ricky, and Ricardo. Mau and Ricky’s sister, Evaluna Montaner, and their brother-in-law, Camilo, are additionally impacting the business. In case you hear carefully, the elder Evaluna and Camilo’s voices might be heard on Mau y Ricky’s new album “Resort Caracas,” which additionally marked the brothers’ return to Venezuela for the primary time in over a decade. Household and neighborhood are core tenets for the duo.
“There is not any hiding the plain,” Ricky Montaner says of his well-known household. “I am proud as a household that we have been in a position to raise one another up, encourage one another, and join with individuals on this method. It is stunning and particular.”
Rising up in Caracas, Mau and Ricky noticed their father carry out big-time hits like “Tan Enamorados” and “Bésame” to sold-out crowds. He would even carry them on stage to sing with him sometimes. Ricardo additionally as soon as had a report label with Venezuelan brothers Servando & Florentino. They typically rehearsed at dwelling and confirmed the youthful Montaner brothers {that a} sibling duo in Latin music was attainable. Now, the sons are inviting their dad to sing their songs. In a hidden characteristic on the tune “Muriendo de Miedo,” Ricardo’s voice superbly harmonizes along with his sons’.
“It is full circle,” Mau Montaner says. “I really feel like he needed to be in it. We’re so grateful for what he has meant to us as a father, clearly as help within the early years and as an affect. It is like paying homage to him and musically thanking him for every part he has meant for us and honoring what he is executed.”
Regardless of having the Montaner connection, Mau y Ricky nonetheless needed to work onerous on their very own to achieve respect throughout the business. Whereas creating their musical act, in addition they fashioned a songwriting collective that included longtime collaborator JonTheProducer and their future brother-in-law, Camilo. They helped pen hits like Becky G and Natti Natasha’s “Sin Pijama,” Karol G’s “Pineapple,” Ricky Martin’s “Vente Pa’ Ca” with Maluma, and their very own breakthrough hit “Desconocidos,” which served as a launching pad for Camilo’s pop profession. Mau y Ricky cowrote a tune on Camilo’s latest album “Cuatro,” and their brother-in-law can be featured on their tune “Karma.”
“It is fairly loopy and wild to suppose again on what we had been in a position to accomplish that began from being these fucking 4 hopeful youngsters that had massive desires to someday make it in music,” Ricky recollects, referring to himself, Mau, Camilo, and JonTheProducer.
“We did it our method, and it was in a collective with individuals we love,” Mau says. “Having the ability to get collectively and have these little moments of artistic bonding is gorgeous. We created a few of my favourite music alongside Cami.”
“Resort Caracas” indicators a brand new period in Mau y Ricky’s music. It marks the primary album launch on their very own label, Why Membership Information, in partnership with Warner Music Latina. The LP additionally comes on the heels of Mau y Ricky increasing their very own households. In 2022, Mau and his spouse Sara Escobar welcomed their first baby, Apollo, and Ricky later married Argentine mannequin Stefi Roitman. It is their most private and daring album, with songs about romance, heartbreak, and intercourse.
“Being married and beginning our personal households has given us a way of safety,” Ricky says. “At this level, my spouse is aware of me precisely as I’m, and I can inform the tales I am telling, and plenty of of them converse of my previous or Mau’s previous. Earlier than, we’d have been like, ‘You are not going to say that.’ With that sense of safety, I am like, ‘I have been via all this, and I bought to say it as a result of I do know that it might probably assist any person.'”
To advertise the “Resort Caracas” album, Mau y Ricky are placing on intimate Foyer Bar concert events across the US and Latin America. The brothers additionally plan to hit the street with a tour on the finish of the yr. Mau admits that he’s adjusting to juggling being a father to Apollo and dwelling out his desires as a pop star along with his brother.
“To be trustworthy, it is onerous, however it’s additionally tremendous enjoyable,” he says. “To illustrate 60 years from now, I like realizing that these songs [on ‘Hotel Caracas’] are part of his childhood. I like the concept he discovered to say sure phrases and that he discovered to play faux drums or faux trumpets as a result of he heard these songs. They’re part of his improvement, and music has extra of a improvement in youngsters’ brains than we even notice.”
“Resort Caracas” additionally marks Mau y Ricky’s return to their dwelling nation of Venezuela. The songs drip with Venezuelan swagger and use native slang. All 15 music movies for the album had been shot in cities round Venezuela, with an upcoming documentary that captured their expertise. Mau y Ricky labored with over 200 crew members based mostly in Venezuela for the undertaking.
“We wanted to reconnect,” Mau says. “We felt like we had been going via this id disaster or lack of feeling part of someplace. For the longest time, we felt that, and as you mature, you begin noticing these little wounds that you must heal. That was one among them. It was stunning after we bought to heal that [wound] after we went again to our nation. It was three months of attending to know our nation in the easiest way attainable, plus filming the movies to symbolize the great thing about Venezuela.”
Lucas Villa is a Mexican American music journalist who covers pop and Latin music. Over 11 years, he has interviewed pop queens and Latin music superstars for locations like PS, Attract, Elle, Rolling Stone, Billboard, MTV Information, Paper, W Journal, Vibe, and LGBTQ Nation.
