Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Nacho Cano, who records under the name Harmless, has shared his new EP, Condiciones, premiering exclusively at Paste.
The EP has a pretty dramatic backstory: In 2017, Cano was nearly killed by a drunk driver while riding his bike. As a result, Cano was put on bed rest and had to relearn how to walk. During his long recovery process, a friend lent him a keyboard to write music. The result was his new EP Condiciones, which features samples of loved ones’ voicemails, audio from the hospital and video of Cano learning how to walk.
The four-track EP melds rich saxophone and sleek vocals with twinkling, lo-fi psych-pop. On the lead track “Octavio y Yo,” it’s incredibly stirring hearing Dan Gonzáles Hernandez’s meditative saxophone float alongside Cano’s velvety vocals and a sample from the first time he attempted to walk. Cano also dives into melancholy R&B pop on “Clavo Saca Clavo” with his vocals containing mesmerizing solace and his keyboards gently glistening. “Te Quiero” is even more heartbreakingly beautiful—it includes audio from a friend’s encouraging voicemail (“I just wanted to call and say I love you…You’ve got such a big heart”), and when paired with chiming pulses, it’s positively soul-cleansing. Condiciones closes with “Para Poder Llorar,” and much like the rest of the EP, the track is full of light, breezy elements, but it bears an incredibly heavy emotional weight.
While displaying strong melodic pop intuition, this EP is a reminder of what’s really important in life—being surrounded by the people that make life not just tolerable, but worth living. The artful brass will make you feel just as emotionally centered and connected to the human race as Cano’s reassuring vocals. More than anything, Condiciones is painfully and beautifully human.
Listen to Condiciones, exclusively via Paste, below.