Mau y Ricky’s “Hotel Caracas” Album Is an Ode to Family

Though some celebrities shrink back from the subject of their well-known mother and father, 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 does not finish with Mau, Ricky, and Ricardo. Mau and Ricky’s sister, Evaluna Montaner, and their brother-in-law, Camilo, are additionally impacting the trade. In case you hear intently, the elder Evaluna and Camilo’s voices may be heard on Mau y Ricky’s new album “Lodge Caracas,” which additionally marked the brothers’ return to Venezuela for the primary time in over a decade. Household and group are core tenets for the duo.

“There is no hiding the plain,” Ricky Montaner says of his well-known household. “I am proud as a household that we have been capable of raise one another up, encourage one another, and join with folks on this method. It is lovely 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 convey 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 house and confirmed the youthful Montaner brothers {that a} sibling duo in Latin music was doable. Now, the sons are inviting their dad to sing their songs. In a hidden function on the music “Muriendo de Miedo,” Ricardo’s voice superbly harmonizes together 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 all the pieces he has meant for us and honoring what he is achieved.”

Regardless of having the Montaner connection, Mau y Ricky nonetheless needed to work laborious on their very own to realize respect inside the trade. Whereas growing 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 music on Camilo’s current album “Cuatro,” and their brother-in-law can also be featured on their music “Karma.”

“It is fairly loopy and wild to suppose again on what we had been capable of accomplish that began from being these fucking 4 hopeful youngsters that had massive desires to in the future make it in music,” Ricky remembers, referring to himself, Mau, Camilo, and JonTheProducer.

“We did it our method, and it was in a collective with folks we love,” Mau says. “Having the ability to get collectively and have these little moments of inventive bonding is gorgeous. We created a few of my favourite music alongside Cami.”

“Lodge Caracas” alerts a brand new period in Mau y Ricky’s music. It marks the primary album launch on their very own label, Why Membership Data, 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 lots of of them communicate of my previous or Mau’s previous. Earlier than, we would 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 obtained to say it as a result of I do know that it could assist someone.'”

To advertise the “Lodge 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 12 months. Mau admits that he’s adjusting to juggling being a father to Apollo and residing out his desires as a pop star together with his brother.

“To be sincere, it is laborious, but it surely’s additionally tremendous enjoyable,” he says. “To illustrate 60 years from now, I really like figuring out that these songs [on ‘Hotel Caracas’] are part of his childhood. I really like the concept that he discovered to say sure phrases and that he discovered to play fake drums or fake trumpets as a result of he heard these songs. They’re part of his growth, and music has extra of a growth in youngsters’ brains than we even understand.”

“Lodge Caracas” additionally marks Mau y Ricky’s return to their house 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 venture.

“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 it’s a must to heal. That was considered one of them. It was lovely once we obtained to heal that [wound] once we went again to our nation. It was three months of attending to know our nation in one of the best ways doable, plus filming the movies to characterize the fantastic 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.