Manu Chao

José Manuel Arturo Tomás Chao Ortega (Paris, June 21, 1961), better known as Manu Chao, is a French singer-songwriter of Spanish origin, multi-instrumentalist and leader of the Black Hand.

Son of the Spanish journalist and writer Ramón Chao and nephew of the writer and theologian Xosé Chao Rego, he grew up in a very rich cultural environment in his childhood and early youth. In addition to being a writer and journalist, his father was an excellent pianist, winner of the Piano Virtuosity Prize and Knight of Arts and Letters of France. ^{[citation needed ]}

Chao began his musical career in Paris, as a street musician and playing in groups like Hot Pants and Los Carayos, which combined a variety of languages and musical styles. With friends and his brother Antoine Chao, he founded the band Mano Negra in 1987, achieving considerable success, especially in Europe and Latin America. He went solo after his disbandment in 1995, and has since toured regularly with his live band, Radio Bemba. He decided to settle in Barcelona. ^{[citation needed ]}

He is known for his political ideals and for his open support of various social causes. Many of his songs talk about love, life in the ghettos and immigration, since the singer's family emigrated from Spain to France during the years of the Franco dictatorship. His best friend, Jorge Abascal, was a great influence on his political ideas linked to anarchism, which can be seen reflected in many of his songs, especially on Clandestino.

Sings and speaks in French, Catalan, Spanish, English, Galician, Portuguese and occasionally other languages.^{[citation required]}

Childhood

His mother, Felisa Ortega, is from Bilbao (Basque Country) and his father, the writer and journalist Ramón Chao, is from Villalba (Galicia). His father obtained the Piano Virtuosity Prize in 1955 and that same year he received a scholarship from the Government of Spain to study piano in France. Shortly after Manu's birth, they moved to the outskirts of Paris, and Manu spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres. He grew up surrounded by many artists and intellectuals known to his father. Chao cites much of his childhood experience as inspiration for some songs.^{[citation needed ]}

Career

Early Years

At the age of fourteen he had his first group, called Joint de Culasse, with his brother Antoine (called "Tonio del Borño") and his cousin Santiago Casariego (called "Santi"). A decade later, influenced by the UK punk scene, especially by bands like The Clash, The Jam and Dr. Feelgood, Chao and other musicians formed the rockabilly group Hot Pants. The group released a demo titled Mala Vida in 1984, which received much acclaim from local critics but not the expected projection. By the time the group released their first album (1986), the Parisian alternative music scene was practically exhausted. Manu, his brother Antoine and his friend Alain (from the group Les Wampas) formed Los Carayos to fuse this sound with the punk and rockabilly styles of the Hot Pants. Los Carayos lasted eight years, releasing three albums in the first two years, followed by a fourth in 1994.^{[citation needed]}

Black Hand

Manu Chao playing with Black Hand, presenting himself in the club quatroShibuya, Tokyo (1990). The band, formed by Chao, his brother Antoine and his cousin Santiago Casariego in Paris, France, was very influential in Europe and Latin America during the 1990s. It reached commercial success in countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Italy.

In 1987, he formed Mano Negra, a heterogeneous multi-ethnic combo, along with his brother Antoine (trumpeter) and cousin Santiago Casariego (drums). They started playing in the Paris metro and their explosive combination of music immediately drew attention: rock, rumba, hip-hop, salsa, raï and punk, sung in French, Spanish, English and Arabic. Manu wrote the songs and was the visible leader of the group. In June 1988 they released their first album, titled with the name with which they baptized their peculiar style: Patchanka. The energetic rumba "Mala Vida" was their introduction, and the group soon earned a well-deserved reputation as an electrifying live band.

In 1989, with the multinational Virgin, they released the album Puta's fever, which opened up the world market thanks to the single "King Kong Five", an example of a crossover (mixture of hip-hop and hardcore guitars). Hailed by one American critic as "the best thing to come out of France since Brigitte Bardot", they became one of the biggest bands in Europe. King of Bongo (1991), sung mostly in English, was their most rock-oriented album. However, after a tour of the United States as the opening act for Iggy Pop, his interests focused on Latin America.

Mano Negra's sound is generally characterized by energetic, lively rhythms, symbolized by the title of their first album, Patchanka, derived from the word "pachanga" (colloquial term for party). and a different informality that allows the audience to be involved and feel its sound up close. Varied music genres are present in all of his albums. ^{[citation needed ]}

Dissolution of the group and solo success

In 1992, Mano Negra and the Royal de Luxe theater company chartered a boat with which they toured coastal cities in Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. During that experience, the members of Mano Negra heard about some abandoned railway tracks in Colombia and they themselves repaired a train to run along them, performing in jungle towns where no band had ever gone before. The adventure, which Ramón Chao himself recounted in the book Fire and Ice Train, was so exhausting that it ended up exacerbating tensions in an already unstable band (it varied between eight and twelve members)..

After the success of his first two solo albums, Chao broke up with Virgin Records, his record house since the times of Black Hand. It was their way of protesting the dismissals in the framework of the merger with EMI and marking their will for independence.

After publishing Casa Babylon (1994), Mano Negra dissolved. Manu and some members of the band then acted under the name of Radio Bemba, due to legal disputes arising from the separation. With no fixed address and always open to external collaborations (the Mexicans Tijuana No!, the Brazilians Skank, the Argentines Karamelo Santo or the Spanish Amparanoia and Tonino Carotone, among many others), he prepared Clandestino, his first album in solitaire, published in 1998. Conceived as a travel document, he recorded it in different countries with his portable studio, including collaborations with local musicians ―such as the Galician tambourine player and singer Josefa de Bastavales― or selections from radio newscasts or other records. The resulting music differs drastically from Mano Negra; the songs were performed mainly in Spanish, with far fewer tracks in French, and the musical style had changed from punk and alternative styles to the calle vibe that Chao was looking for. Although not an instant success, the album gained a steady following in France, with hits such as "Bongo Bong" and "Clandestino", and the album eventually won Best World Music Album at the 1999 Victoires de la Musique Awards. The success of Clandestino around the world, with more than three million copies sold, did not make Manu consider a conventional tour again. On the contrary, he embarked on the unclassifiable Feira das mentiras , a circus show with which he toured the north of Spain. ^{[citation needed ]}

Despite four years of relative silence and distance from the media, when in 2000 he published Próxima estación... Esperanza, his social dimension had not stopped growing; The songs of Clandestino, hailed by The New York Times as the "music of the 21st century", were sung on the streets of Spain during protests against the Aliens Law a early 2001. The new album, recorded this time with a stable band, was not as solid as the previous one, but the repetition of the formula (Latin roots, a few simple rhythmic plots over which he reels off melodies in different languages) it worked to keep Manu Chao one of the most popular artists and even one of the opinion leaders of our era.

In 2012, Rolling Stones magazine selected "Next Station... Hope" among the best 500 albums of all time, at number 473 on the prestigious list. It is also ranked 18,920 on the top 20,000 albums of all time.^[citation required]

On his 2001 tour, Manu Chao's ability to summon was manifested in cities all over Europe and in New York, where the Central Park venue where he performed was too small. At the free concert in the Plaza de Cataluña in Barcelona, such a large number of people gathered (an estimated 90,000 people) that the place overflowed and its accesses were blocked to traffic. Throughout his tour, however, the press questioned him more about his political activism and the almost mythical stature that his figure was acquiring: unrepentant traveler, member of the Attac movement, supporter of the Zapatistas and the legalization of marijuana, promoter of countless projects, etc. The album was an instant success, and led to a successful tour that resulted in the live album Radio Bemba Sound System (2002).

Two years later, Chao returned to his French roots with the album sung entirely in French: Sibérie m'était contéee. It is a record-book with illustrations by the Polish cartoonist Wozniak. Originally it was a graphic project that was born from the meeting with the cartoonist, but the need for a musical accompaniment quickly became evident, translated into the composition of 23 songs.^{[citation required]}

Manu Chao's next album, La Radiolina (literally, the little radio in Italian, but also pocket radio), was released on September 17, 2007, and remained true to its unconventional principles and political messages. This was the first international release since the 2001 album, Próxima Estación: Esperanza. "Rainin in Paradize" was the first single from the album, available for download on their website prior to the album's release. His song "They Call Me Calle," written for the 2005 film Princesas, won a Goya for Best Original Song; Time magazine ranked it #8 of the Top 10 Songs of 2007.^{[citation needed]}

Other works

Manu Chao

In 2003, he approached the duo Amadou & Mariam, and the following year she produced her album Dimanche à Bamako ("Sunday in Bamako"). Her song “La Vida Tómbola” was included in the documentary Maradona, by filmmaker Emir Kusturica (2008). Manu Chao and Tonino Carotone performed the musical theme «La Trampa« for the comedy Drew Carey's Green Screen Show. The songs "Bongo Bong" and "Je ne t'aime plus", which appear on the album Clandestino, were covered by British singers Robbie Williams and Lily Allen, who recorded them as a single. song, "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus", released as a single from the album Rudebox. He dedicated a song to Colombia, a country dear to his person, titled "Soñé Colombia" in which he tours the country. ^{[citation needed ]}

Disputes

The company Metro de Madrid, which manages the underground service of the city of Madrid, filed a complaint against Manu Chao in 2001 for using in the album Próxima estación... Esperanza the sound of the Madrid underground public address system announcing the Esperanza metro station. Chao had to financially compensate the two announcers of the ad.

On April 15, 2009, he was investigated by the Mexican immigration authorities for speaking out against the Mexican state, responsible for the 2006 Atenco riots in San Salvador Atenco, which left two dead and 113 peasants sentenced to sentences ranging from They range between 75 and 115 years in prison, for the crime of not complying with police authority. Manu Chao was in Mexico, since he participated in the International Film Festival of the city of Guadalajara, where he presented some films in the Cinelandia cycle. Due to the investigation, Manu did not appear on the last day of the festival, although the accusation was never notified or verified.

On December 23, 2022, the Mexican Ministry of the Interior reported that Manu Chao was part of a list of personas "non grata" in Mexico. This same day, the agency reported that all the people who were on the list will now be able to enter the country as normal.

Awards

• Best song in the XX edition of the Goya Awards for "Me Calls Calle" Princesses (2005).

Discography

Manu Chao.

En Joint de culasse

• 1982 - Superboum Rock and Roll

In Hot Pants

• 1984 - Demo (Casete)
• 1985 - So many nites (chuckles)
• 1985 - Hot Girls (compilation)
• 1986 - Crazy mosquito

In Los Carayos

• 1985 - Hot Girls (compilation)
• 1986 - Ils ont osé!
• 1987 - Les pages rouges du Bottin
• 1987 - Persistent et signent
• 1990 - Au prix où sont les courges

In Black Hand

Manu Chao.

• 1988 - Patchanka
• 1989 - Puta's fever
• 1991 - King of Bongo
• 1991 - Amerika Lost
• 1992 - In the Hell of Patchinko
• 1994 - Home Babylon
• 1994 - Bande Originale du Livre
• 1998 - Best of Black Hand
• 2005 - The Best Of The Black Hand

As a solo artist

• 1998 - Clandestine (Waiting the last wave...)
• 2001 - Next station... Hope
• 2002 - Radio Bemba Sound System
• 2004 - Sibérie m'était contéee
• 2007 - Radiolina
• 2009 - Baionarena

Other records

• 2008 - Estación México. Recorded in a clandestine concert at the Alicia Forum and exclusive for sale only in Mexico and for the benefit of the EZLN and the political prisoners of San Salvador Atenco.

Internet

Live bonuses published on manuchao.net

• Live Brussels, Belgium 2003
• Live Tokyo, Japan 2010

Videos

Manu Chao.

DVD

• 2002 - Babylonia in Guagua
• 2005 - Black Hand: Out of time
• 2009 - Baionarena

Media

Television

Transmitted concerts on television channels

• Extracts: "The Wind", Tijuana, 2000

• Extracts: "The Wind", live La Cigale, Paris, France, 2001

• Extracts: "Machine gun", Paris, France, 2001

• Live glastonbury, UK 2002

• Extracts: Live Marseille, France, 2002

• Extracts: Live festival Son Latinos, Tenerife, Spain 2003

• Live Buenos Aires, Argentina 2005

• Live Caracas, Venezuela 2006

• Extracts: "Mr. Bobby", Werchter, Belgium 2006

• Live Mexico, Mexico City, 2006

• Live festival coachella, USA 2007

• Live Latin Tempo Festival, France 2007

• Live glastonbury, UK 2008

• Extracts: "Tombola Life", Paléo Festival Nyon, Switzerland 2008

• Live success festival, Serbia 2008

• Extracts: "Green Rock", Perm, Russia 2011

• Extracts: "mr bobby", "dia luna dia dia dia pena", Paléo Festival Nyon, Switzerland 2012

• Extracts: live Bogotá, Colombia 2012

Music TV show

Manu Chao.

• Hora Prima, MTV Latino 1998
• Nulle Part Ailleurs, Canal+ 1998
• La Musicale, Canal+ 2005
• Live concert privé, Canal+ 2007
• Later... with Jools Holland, BBC 2007
• The henry rollins show 2007
• Live abbey road 2008
• One shot not, art 2008
• Austin City Limits, 2008
• Le Grand Journal, Canal+ 2008
• Taratata, france télévision 2008

Documentaries

• Giramundo tour, art 2001
• Tracks, art 2001
• Envoyé special: "Mnu Chao incognito", France 2, 2002
• Voyage à Bamako, M6, 2005 (DVD Paris Bamako, Amadou & Mariam)
• Malegria, 2007
• 66 minutes: Le projet fou de Manu Chao, M6 2008
• At heart, herman@, recorded in 1998 by Kike Babas and Kike Turrón for the release of the album Clandestino

Radius

Manu Chao.

Dissemination concerts

• Live Roskilde festival, Denmark 2001
• Live, new york, USA 2001
• extracts: Live Wiesen festival, Austria 2001
• Live Gurtenfestival, Swiss 2001
• Live Paleo festival, Swiss 2001
• Live (+ interview) Esperanzah festival, Belgium 2007
• Live Way Out West Festival, Sweden 2007

Radio broadcasts

• Live, Radio Nova, 1998
• Live, Radio Popolare, 1999
• Interview, Ondes de choc, France inter, 2001
• Live, KCRW, 2001
• Live, Club Lek, 3FM, 2002 (+ video streaming)
• Interview, Paroles et musique, RTL, 2002
• Interview, La bande passante, RFI, 2002
• Live, OÜI FM, 2002
• Live, RTL2, 2002
• Live, France Inter, 2002
• Interview, report, "le tambour de Manu Chao", radio têtard (webradio), 2004
• Live, KCRW, 2007
• Live à la Boule Noire, concert privé, OÜI FM, 2007
• Live studio 104, France inter, 2007
• Live, interview, "Le Contrôle Discal", Radio Nova, 2008 (+ video streaming)
• Live, interview, RTL, 2008
• Live, KCRW, 2010 (+ video streaming)
• Reporting, Pop Etc, France Inter, 2013
• Live, NRK, 2016 (+ video streaming)

Collaborations

Amadou & Mariam Amadou.

• All Your Dead: "Watch Guerrillas"Give her aboriginal.1994)
• All Your Dead: "Our Son"Give her aboriginal.1994)
• Joaquín Sabina: "No sopor... no sopor..."Me, me, me, with you1996)
• All Your Dead: "All I would give" (The real road1997)
• Anouk: "Politik"Automatik Kalamity1997)
• Idir: "A Tulawin (Une Algérienne Début) (1999)
• Holy Karamelo: "La Picadura" and "El Reo"The Guachos2000)
• Tonino Carotone: "I fuck in love"Mondo difficificile2000)
• Noir Désir: "Le vent nous portera"Des visages et des figures2001)
• Amadou et Marian: "Senegal Fast Food" (2005)
• Smod: "Ça Chante" (2009)
• Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra: "Let me eat the river flow"Walkin'2012)
• Dr. Krapula: SeinekvnAma-Zonas, 2014)
• The Colifata: "I was always crazy" (The Colifata 2002 - Recopilatory, 2002)
• Santo Karamelo: "La Picadura" (Los Guachos 2002, 2002)
• Dr. Krapula: SeinekvnAma-Zonas, 2014)
• Playing for change: "Clandestine" 2017, "One love" 2009
• Skakeitan: "Lerro Hutsen Artean" (Galerari 2016)
• Gaspar OM: "I have Mix / Maneiras" 2019

Bibliography by and about Manu Chao

• Bye, R. "Black Hand in Colombia. An ice and fire train", 2001 (Original title: "Un train de glace et de feu"). A chronicle of the Black Hand tour by train in Colombia, written by the father of Manu and Tonio.
• Robecchi, A. "Manu Chao. Music and freedom" (original in Italian, with title in Spanish), 2000.
• Bye, M."Sibérie m'était contée", 2004.
• Ripoll, F. "The Life of Manu Chao in the San Marcos".
• Manu " Chao, book edited with Wozniak, Polish painter (2012).
• Babas, K. and Turrón, K. "Manu Chao illegal. Persecuting the clandestine", 2019. Biography. With prologues from Fermín Muguruza, Amparanoia and Fernando León de Aranoa.
• Culshaw, Peter. "Clandestine - Looking for Manu Chao", 2022. Biography of the editorial Kultrum Books.