Music / Mecano

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Mecano is a Spanish band formed in 1982 by brothers Ignacio (better known as Nacho) and José Cano, along with singer Ana Torroja. In the beginning, their music was more Synth-Pop than anything.

In 1986, they took on a more Pop sound. Nacho and José shared songwriting duties and had Ana perform lead vocals. Interestingly enough, the songs were written from a male perspective yet were sung by Ana in her ultra-feminine voice.

The band went on hiatus on 1993. In 1998, the band released Ana José Nacho, a compilation of their greatest hits plus six original songs. Later that year, they separated and embarked in solo careers.

Members

• Ignacio “Nacho” Cano
• José Cano
• Ana Torroja

Discography

• Mecano
• ¿Dónde está el país de las hadas?
• Ya Viene El Sol
• Mecano: En concierto
• Entre el cielo y el suelo
• Descanso Dominical
• Aidalai
• Ana José Nacho

Tropes present in Mecano's works.

• Addiction Song: "Esto no es una canción" ("This is not a song") where the protagonist yields to peer pressure and tries drugs, soon becoming a junkie.
• Ballad of a Sex Worker: “Cuerpo y corazón” has a high-school grad becoming a drug-using jaded sex worker who is slut-shamed for doing what others do: trade sex for money.
• Band of Relatives: The band has sibilings Jose Maria and Ignacio Cano.
• Bedmate Reveal: In the song “Stereosexual” a man wakes up to find himself in bed next to another guy. He assumes that means he is gay, only to notice that the other “guy” is really a girl with Boyish Short Hair.
• Break-Up Song: "Me cuesta tanto olvidarte", of the "I want you back" variety"
• Celebrity Elegy: ""Eungenio" Salvador Dalí" takes place at Dali’s deathbed. The title itself is a Pun referring to him being a genius (Eungenio = un genio, meaning "genius")
• Fanservice: Seen often with Ana, who favored micro-miniskirts and crop tops.
• Gospel Choirs Are Just Better: "Stereosexual" ends with a gospel choir singing:
  ¡Padre nuestro!
  ¡Quiero sexo,sexo!
  (Our Father!
  I want sex, sex!)
• Journey to the Sky: At one point during the video of the song "Hijo de la Luna" (Son of the Moon), the child who was conceived from the starring Romani girl can be seen climbing a very tall ladder to the moon, in order to visit the satellite. This represents the child having been agreed by the mother to have the custody of the moon itself in exchange for a loving husband.
• Ladykiller in Love: "La fuerza del destino" ("The Strength Of Fate") depicts a Casanova who at first is peeved that his date denied him a kiss on the first date, but as time passes he develops feelings for her.
• Lunacy: "Hijo de la Luna" ("Son of the Moon" in Spanish) is a Murder Ballad (see below) about a Romani girl who agrees to give the moon her firstborn son if the moon grants her wish for a husband. After they marry, their son's ermine-white skin and gray eyes make the husband think he is not the father. He then kills his wife and abandons the child in the mountains. The song ends claiming that the moon is full when the child is in a good mood, and wanes to make him a cradle if he cries.
• Murder Ballad: "Cruz de Navajas" (about a Love Triangle) and "Hijo de la luna".
• New Sound Album: 1986's Entre el cielo y el suelo emphasizes a pop sound over Synth-Pop
• Ode to Intoxication: In "Perdido en mi habitación" the singer is going crazy from boredom and looking forward to getting drunk on account of drinking on an empty stomach.
• Ominous Latin Chanting: In “No es serio este cementerio.”
• Serenade Your Lover: In "Dos Amantes", the singer sings couplets to the object of his desire right below her window and begs her to come out because he is getting heat exhaustion.
• Shout-Out:
  • In "Bailando Salsa", the protagonist and his date go out dancing. She excuses herself to visit the restroom and doesn't come back. Then the protagonist learns she has left with Pedro Almodóvar.
  • In "Stereosexual", the girl who is first mistaken for a guy is said to have "hair Grace Jones-style"
• "Somewhere" Song: In "Hawaii-Bombay" the singer dreams of visiting those two paradises and tries to evoke them indoors by pouring salt on the bathtub and applying suntan lotion.
• Title Track: “Aidalai”, from Aidalai
• Tragic AIDS Story: “El fallo positivo”, where half of a couple is Driven to Suicide after testing positive for HIV.
• The Tragic Rose: "Una rosa es una rosa" ("A rose is a rose"), uses roses to symbolize how invoked Love Hurts. The protagonist picks the most beautiful rose on the bush, thinking love will protect them, but gets cut with the thorns.
• Wonder Child: In the song "Hijo de la Luna" (Son of the moon) the moon agrees to grant a Romani woman’s wish for a husband in exchange for their firstborn. When their child is born with ermine-white skin, the Romani husband refuses to believe he is the father. He kills her and abandons the child. The moon takes in the child as if it was its mother.