Today we’d like to introduce you to Miguel Angel De Armas
Hi Miguel Angel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in (Havana) Cuba, and coming from a musical family I always felt inclined to be a music artist. I started learning piano when I was 8 years old, and at the age of 9 I was admitted to the Elementary Music School “Manuel Saumell”, where I got a solid music education. From there, at the age of 14 years old, I went to the Conservatory “Amadeo Roldan”. This stage of my life was very crucial in terms of preparation and professional growth. School education focused on Classical European style of music. Outside of school hours I worked with Cuban Music, Jazz, among others genres that were very influential on me.
In the last year of the Conservatory (2012) I participated and won an international competition called “JoJazz” and that prize helped me to get the opportunity to travel to the USA for the first time, for a summer camp in New Orleans, as part of a cultural exchange between Cuba and USA, at the Loyola University. This was through a program called “Horn from Havana” created by the well known musician Wynton Marsalis.
In 2013 I was admitted to the University of Arts (ISA) from where I enhanced my professional knowledge in the field of composition. During those University years I also had the opportunity to be a part of the band of a few Grammy Award winners such as Gente de Zona and Descemer Bueno. Touring and performing in over 15 countries.
In 2017, I recorded my first album as an independent artist called “Mundo Interior” which won the “Cubadisco Award” in Cuba.
A year later in 2018 I decided to move to Canada where my father was living. There, I started working on music production and getting into House and Pop music. Two years passed and COVID hit, so the entertainment industry was heavily affected and I decided to move to the USA to live in Miami, FL in 2021 because I felt it would offer better opportunities for my future.
Since 2021, I arrived in Miami, I have been growing my solo career and network, leading me to participate in big music events like Billboards. Working hard and Releasing original music consistently in collaboration with many independent artists in town made one of my songs to be pre-nominated for the “Latin Grammy” in the category of Electronic Music Performance.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There are always struggles along the road. Dealing with migration and everything involved with it. Moving out from a communist country that is so behind in terms of technology, financials, and socially to landing in Canada without knowing the English language was absolutely challenging. Especially when inserting myself in the artistic community and understanding culturally my new environment.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
In the earliest stage of my career, mostly my focus was developing my skills as a piano performer, and after years of professional crafting I was able to achieve outstanding results at different stages of it in terms of prizes, global touring, album release, collaborations with big artist names in the industry.
Currently, I have been Djing and performing (keyboard or keytar) in different prestigious events and venues such as: Faena Hotel, Martini Doral, Mona Lisa, Pier 5, and Delilah.
One of the things that makes me proud is getting honest, great feedback about my art and live performance from the artist community and general audience and how they talk about my art can make them feel.
What I believe it set me apart is the multiple ability of Producing, Djing and be a Keytar performer, and have these multiple influence from Latin roots to Pop,House ,EDM.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I can definitely say hard and smart work, perseverance, discipline, patience, and the ability of expanding network.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.angelokeys.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelokeys_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angelokeys93
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@angelokeys_
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/angelokeys
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1J6Xj4CnRNTAViKrpbuMzj?si=9UfG2KmESe2QPkSf5vyHPQ
Image Credits
Jose Couceiro
Dianela de La portilla
