Simant Duo released their new album Skyward and went on a concert tour, which will visit different parts of Spain. Ruben and Antonio are having a big professional moment and their music is making a big splash.. Here they tell us all the details of their new work and everything they have experienced with their music.

Bekia: You are introducing the new LP Skyward. How are things before this release?

Simant Duo: Hello! How are you? The truth is that we are very excited. The fact that it has been simmering for almost two years, that it can finally see the light and that we can share it with the public from the stage, makes us very happy and what we really wanted.

B: You have chosen mythical and most spectacular themes. A win-win bet, right?

SD: We think so! When we started shaping this second LP, it was clear to us from the start that when someone flips over the album cover to see the back cover, all the songs they find were written by music legends, names like: Mariah Carey, ABBA , Michael Jackson. , Queen… And, in particular, the fact that these were songs that everyone had ever heard in their lives. And out of all this came Skyward.

Album cover of Simant Duo

B: Also, these are songs from different eras because we’re going from “Black or White” to “Bad Habits”. How did you choose these songs?

SD: Almost the entire album consists of songs from the 70’s to the early 2000’s, but it’s true that we wanted to freshen it up with some songs, like the bonus track “Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran. . The choice of songs was quite simple: we started by making a long list of songs that we all would say are great and that we liked; from this list we had to exclude the ones that we liked the least, since the duration of the recording usually does not exceed an hour of music and, finally, we are always in touch with our composer Cesar Saura, who has the last word to decide whether the song was viable in combination trumpets and piano or not.

B: What would you name your favorite version?

SD: It’s a difficult question… Because choosing a song is almost like saying if we love our father or mother more… (they laugh) but if we had to choose, we would name the song without hesitation Ed. Sheeran’s “bad habits”, for example, because we think that many people today can feel connected to this type of music. Another good lesson, of course, would be Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen or Black or White by Michael Jackson.

B: One of the strengths is collaboration with famous artists like Ara Malikyan. How did this collaboration come about?

SD Ruben: I had the pleasure of meeting Ara Malikyan on television on various occasions, and since then we have established a wonderful friendship. When Antonio and I decided to organize an international collaboration on the second LP and decided to invite him to work on a Queen song, he agreed without hesitation. So… This is something that Antonio and I will never forget, and it will always be on this record.

B: Who else would you like to have the opportunity to work with?

SD: The truth is that there are so many living legends and great artists that we would love to collaborate with and share the stage with, it’s hard to tell anyone in particular…

B: Going back to the beginning, tell me how Simant Duo came about.

SD: Simant Duo was born around 2018 when we contacted each other and decided to embark on a new path together as a duo. Even though we had other artists as references or inspirations, we thought that there was no trumpet and piano duo in the whole world that would do what we wanted: that is, interpret all kinds of music, regardless of genre. We played a few gigs, debuting in the city of Granada, but soon decided to turn our first ideas into a first album that focused on soundtracks adapted for the band by the Galician composer Andrés Alvarez. As soon as we released this album and saw the great reception we received both in Spain and in Europe, we decided to take a big push and bet on a second LP.

B: What prompted you to create a duet?

SD: Well, we both wanted to get away from the “typical”, break the taboos that exist in the world of classical music, and above all the desire to make music accessible to the masses. Music of all kinds, interpreted with passion and with all our participation.

B: Did you get a little dizzy at first? The world of music is not easy

SD: Not dizzy… after all, we had nothing to lose. If the duet didn’t work out, each went on to solo careers. It also happened that the duet worked, but we did not get along. It would make things much more difficult. But thank God, all the ingredients are given for us to fight with charged batteries for many years.

B: What do you want to convey with your music?

SD: Well, as we said a little earlier, through music we aim to excite the public, the big masses; we strive to inspire new generations, motivate them; We strive to be able to interpret all kinds of music so that the audience that listens to us, youth/adults, musicians/non-musicians, can enjoy what we do.

B: You have prepared a concert tour that will take you to different places in Spain. What are we going to find?

SD: Well, besides the SKYWARD songs, there are many surprises that we have prepared for you, as well as a super fun and spectacular show in which 90-100 minutes will fly by unnoticed by everyone!