You’d be hard pressed to find a success story in Latin music as phenomenal as that of Chino y Nacho – Urban Latin music’s hottest duo to date – whose newest album, Radio Universo, stole the #1 spot on charts (and hearts) around the world this year. These two are sensational – not only do they have the talent required to create chart-topping albums, release million+ view music videos, and cultivate a fan following that ensures sold out tours across the globe, they’re also just as laid back, funny, cool, and fun as you would expect.
We had a chance to sit down with them at the end of this incredibly busy and successful year, to reflect on their new album, their tour, and, most importantly, what goes on behind-the-scenes to fuel it all.
What do you listen to when you’re looking for inspiration?
Chino: I’ve always been a fan of Reggae music so it’s my go-to when I need to free my mind. For me, inspiration comes from all types of music.
Nacho: I take inspiration from all the things around me; people, places, sounds. When I need to get inspired musically, I like to listen to music from other parts of the world because that way I can internationalize my sound.
Radio Universo came out this year. How does it feel to finally have it available for all your fans?
Chino: We have put so much hard work into this album that having it out for sale makes us beyond happy. We can’t wait for people to listen to it and start giving up feedback all over social media.
Nacho: This album makes us happy because it definitely shows our musical evolution and being able to collaborate with so many great artists made it a lot of fun to record.
What’s the story behind the album title?
Nacho: Well, the album was pretty much done and we still didn’t have a title for it. Some friends suggested some titles and Radio Universo was born. It was the perfect title because we have so much musical diversity in this album that any radio stations around the world can find a song that resonates with their audience…. And that is what Radio Universo really stands for.
For that matter, how do you agree on the titles for anything? Do you ever argue about a song title?
Chino: No, we don’t really argue. We sit down and discuss options (we each give our ideas). In the end, there will always be an idea better than the rest and so we go for that one. No egos here- jajaja.
Do you each have a favorite song from the album?
Chino: That’s a hard one because we put our hearts into each and every song.
Nacho: Yeah, each song is like a child; you don’t love one of your children more than the others.
How much do your personal lives play a role in the music you’re making?
Nacho: I think that when you are happy, the happy songs come out happier, and when you are sad, the sad songs come out sadder. I believe that one’s heart’s feelings definitely play a role.
Chino: But overall, our music is always happy. We try to inspire and make people happy with our music.
You’ve played a lot of venues… What has been your worst performance experience?
Chino: In the beginning of our career once I was coming out on stage; I was so pumped and excited to go out and perform… but I quickly slipped and fell off the stage. Having to perform through the pain was definitely not very much fun.
On the flip side, what’s been one of your best performance moments? A time you really felt like superstars.
Nacho: Luckily for us, our fans are amazing. The love and support we get from them is incredible. And for that, we always feel like superstars. It doesn’t matter if we are performing for 100 or 100,000 when the love is so pure. For example, we have been feeling like superstars since last December when we kicked off our international tour “Radio Universo Tour”. We have been able to perform in front of crowds of more than 14K on average, so we have taken a lot from this wonderful experience.
What’s the best advice you ever received?
Nacho: For me, when I was younger and my parents would tell me “You’ll understand when you have kids”… yeah, I get it now- jajaja.
Chino: Not to give up. During hard times, anyone can doubt themselves and want to give up on a dream or goal. But that’s when I go back to my mom’s words, and I remember that everything is possible if you are willing to work relentlessly for it.
We’d like you each to tell us one thing we may not know about the other. Chino, you talk about Nacho, and vice versa.
Chino: Well, I can tell you that Nacho does not like chicken; he cannot stand it.
Nacho: And Chino does not like Yogurt. He recently had to eat a spoonful of yogurt because he lost a competition with me, and I’m sure he will remember that day forever.
What’s next for you?
Chino: We just released an album of Lullabies. Its called “Chino & Nacho For Babies”. It is composed of our greatest hits, but reinvented to instrumental melodies using kid-friendly sounds. We are proud to say that we are the first Latin music artists to make an album like this.
What song is stuck in your head right now? 1, 2, 3… Go!
In Unison: Me Voy Enamorando!
Nacho: This is our latest single, and thankfully it has had a fantastic acceptance. The music video has over 119 million views and it has been #1 on radio stations across Latin America. We are very thankful for the support.
