Barcelona (AFP)

On their terrace in Barcelona, ​​Klaus, Rai and Guillem just wanted to brighten up the confines of the Spaniards with a guitar and a bucket as drums. But this relaxed trio met with a success which still seems "improbable" to them.

Two months and 27 songs later, the three young members of "Stay Homas" have just signed a contract with Sony to release a record in the fall. Some 400,000 people follow them on Instagram, the Canadian Michael Bublé took over one of their titles and Manu Chao made a "featuring" on one of their songs.

"It is completely improbable. I could never have imagined what happens to us, that Sony comes to pick us up, that they like the songs that we compose on our terrace, with a guitar and a bucket", says to l 'AFP Guillem Boltó, in the attic apartment where the three musicians have been living in a shared flat since the beginning of the year.

The entrance is cluttered with a stock of drinks sent by brands to appear in their videos.

- Home made -

Before their success story, the three friends played in two small local groups: Guillem, 25, on the trombone and singing one; Klaus Stroink and Rai Benet, 25 and 28, as the other's trumpeter and bass player.

But they had "never composed anything" together, assures Klaus, until mid-March, the Spanish population is invited to "stay at home" to curb the epidemic of coronavirus. They then found themselves, idle, taking an aperitif on their sunny terrace.

"Rai started playing a bit of bossanova and for fun we started to compose a song, to shoot a video then to put it" on the internet, remembers Guillem from this famous terrace, full of cacti ...

They composed a second title the next day, "Stay Homa", then others and others. "Confination Songs" based on reggae, folk, flamenco or trap, full of good humor.

"People were always waiting for this with ever more impatience and we, we were more and more motivated. Until suddenly, I don't know how, it was + boom +", summarizes Guillem.

- "See the good side" -

"Stay at home, you don't want corona, stay at home, it's good to be isolated (...) But we're fine, if we see each other, we greet each other from afar, we're fine and within nine months there will be a baby boom, "says their song" Stay Homa ".

The idea was to "deliver a somewhat optimistic message, to say, + okay, this is a crappy situation, but try to see the good side of it +", comments Klaus. "But hey, you can't say that in 27 different ways and at one point, we started talking about how we were, how we were living."

The limits imposed by the confinement gave their songs a "homemade" style, tinkered with, a little "shabby" as they say themselves.

All kinds of everyday objects - spatulas, bottles of beer or gin, wooden case - have become instruments. The artists they collaborated with like Manu Chao recorded videos that the "Stay Homas" showed during their song on the small screen of the mobile phone ...

"There are very few things planned in this project (...) If there had been a drums, we would have played drums, and not tapped on a bucket. The first three weeks, we had than a baguette, "laughs Klaus.

They were slow to set up a website and create their social media profiles because they thought no one would follow them. "In one week we had more than 100,000 subscribers. 100,000! It's crazy," says Rai.

The "Stay Homas" still wonder if their future record should be based on the "Confination Songs", if they should compose new songs and to what extent to keep their artisanal and casual style ...

"The videos are very cool but a whole disc with a bucket and a guitar ... You say quickly + help +", jokes Rai.

The entertainment world being at a standstill due to the epidemic, they have not yet been able to enjoy real contact with their fans.

"The contact with the public (missing), when you shout + eh + and people respond + eh +. Many fans follow our account but I have not yet heard a single applause apart from our four neighbors!", Says Guillem.

But success or not, the three friends want to remain the same. "I'm fine with my life, with my friends," says Klaus. "I don't want anyone to change that".

© 2020 AFP