Gold-Selling Bedroom Pop Artist HARMLESS Announces First Studio Album; Shares Hand Drawn Animated Music Video

Gold-selling bedroom pop artist Harmless, aka Los Angeles-based, Mexico City-born songwriter/producer Nacho Cano, will release his first full-length album, Springs Eternal, in nine years on March 29, 2024. The almost decade-long gap was not intentional; instead, it was a result of almost being killed by a drunk driver in a hit-and-run crime while he was biking to work, the surgery to rebuild his spine and face, the long recovery that left him bedridden for a year, the court case that followed, and to top it off, the pandemic.

He wrote Springs Eternal in his small office-turned-home studio in Silverlake, CA, while reconciling with how his life has changed, how the crime still has long-lasting implications, and while trying to remember what it was like before when he was a blog-obsessed teenage immigrant who was excited to start a band and see it gain traction. The record was co-produced by Yves Rothman at the iconic Sunset Sound in only nine days. Cano really wanted to recreate the carefree writing style he had as a teen, so he put time limitations on the entire process, going with his gut and attempting not to overthink it. Springs Eternal will feature the recent singles “It’s Only You,” “Rosie,” “What U Want,” and “As I Lay Chillin.”

Today, Harmless shares the meticulously created music video for his hazy new single, “Hate Me.” Directed by Isabelle Aspin and Brian Smee with animation by Smee, background hand drawn by Aspin, and creature design and special animation by Haewon Lee, the video is an animated love letter to film from the directors and Cano.

The directors add, “the music video, and the meta-movie that’s being ‘documented’ through the video is inspired by one of our favorite eras of filmmaking— that magic moment straddling the millennium when movie making seems equal parts rooted in the past with practical effects, stunts, and sets, while also beckoning in the future of CGI— all gloriously documented through fabulous, revelatory behind the scenes documentaries.  The video is a build-out of homages to our favorite featurettes— Trinity’s motorcycle sequence from The Matrix Reloaded, Eddie Murphy in an early ‘bluescreen hell’ behind the scenes on the Haunted Mansion, William Friedkin directing the knife fights in The Hunted— and the challenge and fun was pulling these moments together into the approximation of a fictional movie that could have existed alongside those films.  We hope this video conveys our deep love and respect for the miraculous process of movie making, and our appreciation for all the labor that goes into every film, whether it makes a billion, or fades into obscurity…”

WATCH + SHARE “HATE ME”

Harmless draws inspiration from his wife, life in America as an artist, an immigrant, and a person disabled by a crime. Nacho grew up in Mexico near Mexico City before his family settled in San Diego. At 17-years-old, he developed an obsession with the “blog-o-sphere,” intently following the commentary of Pitchfork, Anthony Fantano, and more as a self-professed “early high school internet kid.” This obsession made him realize it was possible to make music of his own. Not long after gaining citizenship and starting to gain traction on his music, the hit-and-run crime happened. As if by a stroke of well-earned luck, while in recovery his anthem “Swing Lynn” organically exploded on TikTok. In between the jarring experience of the criminal trial for his accident, it picked up a Gold certification and scored nearly half-a-billion streams and counting. He maintained this momentum with several EPs including the Mr. Baby EP [2022] highlighted by “Nacho’s,” “Mrs. Moody,” and “Call Katie.” Simultaneously, he toured with Vacations, Wavves, Roar, and many more.