Carlos Jean

Carlos Jean Arriaga, an electronic producer and DJ who has collected seven Latin Grammy nominations, steered several of the most prominent Spanish pop releases across the 2000s. He entered the world in 1973 in Ferrol, the industrial center of Spain’s northwest, and launched his recording career in 1998 by forming the indie pop duo Najwajean with actress Najwa Nimri; their first album, No Blood, appeared that same year. Solo work began in 2000 with Planet Jean, after which Arriaga divided the decade between individual projects and the partnership. His own Back to the Earth arrived in 2002, containing the European hit single “Mr. Dabada,” which Intel licensed for a worldwide advertising campaign, while Mr. Miracle followed in 2006; these albums were framed by Najwajean’s soundtracks for the Daniel Calparsoso films Asfalto and Guerreros plus the 2008 release Till It Breaks. He also produced full albums for Latin acts including Alejandro Sanz, Miguel Bose, and Hombres G. Several of those artists contributed to his 2010 charity single “Ay Haiti,” recorded after the Haitian earthquake and featuring his Haitian-born father, Jean Robert Jean. In 2011 Arriaga introduced Plan B, an online platform that invited both established and emerging musicians to rework tracks he posted. The experiment supplied the foundation for his 2011 compilation Introducing Carlos Jean and later became a recurring highlight on the Spanish entertainment program El Hormiguero.