“Playing just before Rage, the French-Spanish producer and songwriter Manu Chao got that massive field dancing wildly with a rapid-fire blend of reggae, post-punk, Afropop and more, breaking the rules of genre left and right.”
–Los Angeles Times

“[Manu Chao is] the ringmaster of a multicultural, cross-generational, genre-busting circus that can whip tens of thousands of people into a frenzy even if they don’t speak the same language.”
–Pitchfork

“Rainin in Paradize: We guarantee you won’t hear a peppier, more upbeat song all year-or at least, not one that also includes the words “atrocity,” “catastrophe,” and “calamity.” (Did we mention “Fallujah”?)…This heartfelt reaction to institutionalized violence…will seize you by the proverbial lapels-and make you dance.”
–New York Magazine

“Rainin in Paradize is a glorious, fist-pumping riot of driving beats and soaring punk guitar lines, with Chao’s irrepressible spirit making it a defiant rallying call rather than a resigned grumble. One of the singles of the year so far…”
–The Guardian (UK)

” …. of the few musicians whose range is broad enough to appeal to both hardcore punks and the gentle souls who listen to KCRW by combining the uplifting idealism of Bob Marley and the surreal poetry of Bob Dylan with the frenetic energy of the Clash. While there have been a zillion bands that share those influences, there’s something uniquely enchanting in the way Chao blends rock, ska, funk, rap, punk, salsa, folk, heavy metal, cabaret and Gypsy styles…”
–LA WEEKLY

…

A few years ago Time magazine named ‘you’ as the Person of the Year. Not surprising. We have limited our national borders so much that, even in the realm of music, it’s hard to remember that there is a whole world out there outside of ourselves. With all of technology now focused on ‘us,’ perhaps we should TiVo ourselves sometime and actually tune in to the stuff that’s going on globally.

All of my previous trysts with world music have turned into full-blown matrimony. World music has been my salvation, and the praise belongs solely to Manu Chao. His political activism, his fusion of world music, his cross-cultural upbringing, his mischievous creative image – they represent all that I love about the world.

More than that, Manu embodies an inquisitive, unquenched spirit that is so desperately needed. He hasn’t so much taught me anything new as he has awakened what has been quiescent within me for way too damn long.

Cultural tolerance, indigenous rights, social consciousness, global diversity, racial inequality, oppression of the poor, music without borders, activism – all wrapped up in one little fella.

Paris-born and of Spanish descent, Manu is restless troubadour, rarely in one country long enough to visit all of his friends. He can sing in French, Spanish, Galician, Portuguese, Arabic, English and Wolof and will often do so within the same song. This is a practice carried over from his Mano Negra days, the brilliant and internationally-loved band from the 80’s that paved the way for Latin alternative and world music rock.

The following excerpt comes from my favorite article about him:

His insistence on playing the music business game on his own terms makes it difficult to schedule big tours – usually he only plans three months ahead. He refuses the usual round of media interviews – and he doesn’t even have a mobile phone.

This unselfconsciously dishevelled figure has little interest in hanging out with his fellow stars. ‘Every time I met any of my heroes I was disappointed – the exception was Joe Strummer, who was like an uncle to me. The last time I saw him was at a festival in Japan, sleeping out in the woods, jamming by a fire and putting on little tapes he’d made to keep the atmosphere going.’

‘Joe absolutely adored Manu’s music and was a friend,’ says Strummer’s widow, Lucinda. ‘I met him once with Joe at the Shepherds Bush Empire, in 2002, and there was lots of excitement when Joe turned up before the gig – attempting to speak to Manu in his broken Spanish.’

…

Back in 2007, I moved heaven and earth to go to Manu’s show in Washington D.C. Manu Chao crowds are mini-U.N. assemblies, swarms of people from various ethnic groups chanting, cheering, jumping, dancing, and waving their respective national flags. It doesn’t matter that only alternating sections of the crowd understand the words of any given song at any given time. Music is universal.

And there it is: universal. Manu sings about a myriad of topics. Injustice. War. Heartbreak. Boogey Men. Immigration. Travel. Street culture. Soccer stars. Environment. Prostitutes. Optimism. Hope. But regardless of what language he sings in, the message gets through. The music gets through.

You won’t likely find a moderate Manu Chao fan. You either run into people who have never heard of him, or you run into Manu Chao disciples, with loyalty so fierce and powerful it could befit no one else.

My heart belongs to the Clash, but Manu saved my soul.

…

The Best Live Show Around

Older Video: “Desaparecido”

Mano Negra (Manu not on vocals for this one)