Manu Chao's worldly music is a clear reflection of his upbringing. His family fled to Paris to avoid Franco's brutal regime in Spain: his mother is from the Basque region, and his journalist father is from Galicia. Chao's immersion in the vibrant alternative-pop French music scene of the '80s and his subsequent musical travels, inform his left-leaning, politically outspoken and multi-cultural creative work.
Chao's first group, the retro-pop French band Hot Pants, had a minor hit with "Mala Vida" in 1984. It was with Mano Negra, however, that Chao broke through. The band (featuring Manu and his brother Tonio, plus cousin Santiago Casiriego) fed on well-read punky forebears like the Clash and early Police, as well as the socio-political charm of Bob Marley, and fearlessly blended world beats and global statements. Still remembered with reverence and acknowledged for being ahead of its time for pan-continental appeal, Mano Negra broke apart in 1995. A move to Madrid found Chao further expanding his sound with Radio Bemba Sound System (named after a Cuban Revolution communication system) — a collective he formed showcasing a group of progressive Latino musicians.
Throughout his career, Chao — judiciously described by the U.K.'s Guardian as a "musical magpie" — has moved seamlessly between cultures, as evidenced by his solo efforts Próxima Estación: Esperanza, which is filled with a Caribbean lilt, and his 2004 Sibérie m'était Contéee, a purely French-language effort. Before releasing the Latin Grammy-winning La Radiolina, Chao produced the well-received Dimanche à Bamako for the Malian duo Amadou & Mariam. Perfectly timed for an election year, a subsequent set of remixes of the Radiolina track "Politik Kills" features reinterpretations by Dennis Bovell (with Brit dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson), Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and Paul "Groucho" Smykle, and Prince Fatty, among others.
Provenance: Paris, France
Latest Release: La Radiolina (2007)
© 2008 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.
Manu Chao
