Nacho Cano

Who is Nacho Cano?

Ignacio Cano Andrés, aka Nacho Cano, is a Spanish arranger, composer, musician and record producer. Both he and his brother showed a precocious interest in music in their young lives. At 5, he began to play the Spanish guitar and at 12 he started his first band called “Prisma”, with Toti Arboles and Eduardo Benavente, both of whom would later make up the core of the sociocultural movement that took place in Spain after Franco’s death, known as the “Movida Madrileña”. After playing in several different bands in his early teens, Nacho formed “Mecano” with his brother Jose and his brother’s friend Ana Torroja. At 16, Nacho wrote “Hoy No Me Puede Levantar”. “Mecano” signed their first record deal with CBS, when Nacho was 17 years old. This first album smashed all sales records in Spain, selling 1,000,000 copies in three months.

“Mecano” became the biggest Spanish pop-rock band of all time, with an estimated 25 million records sold. The European music press has described them as the most important non-English speaking band since ABBA. At this time, Nacho met the influential Hans Zimmer who would help him produce and arrange Mecano’s second album. Today, Nacho attributes Hans with teaching him the most important music lessons of his life. They remain friends and mentors to this day. It was during this journey also that Nacho met Penelope Cruz who would star in the music video for one of his most successful songs, “La Fuerza del Destino”. In 1992, seeking to escape the challenges that entail his success, he travelled to New York City with Penelope Cruz and wrote his first instrumental piece “Un Mundo Separa por el Mismo iDos”. They moved to London in 1994. Their relationship lasted through 1996, and they remain friends today.,