Manu Chao Tickets Continued
Manu Chao's mother was Basque and his father, writer and journalist Ramon Chao,
Galician from Vilalba. They moved to Paris to escape Francisco Franco's dictatorship, which
lasted until the dictator's death in 1975. Shortly after Manu Chao's birth, his family moved to
the outlying suburbs of Paris, and he spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and
Sevres. Whilst growing up he was constantly surrounded by artists and intellectuals, most of whom
were his father's acquaintances with wide multicultural diversity that influenced his personality to a
large extent. He grew up with thoughts of social equality and a thirst for diversity which largely
shows in the mixture of distinct exotic sound without boundaries in his music.
In 1987, Manu Chao, his brothers and their cousin Santiago Casariego founded the
band Mano Negra. Mano Negra's sound was mostly characterized by lively rhythms which
transmit a vibrant energy, symbolized by the title of their first album, Patchanka (which is a
colloquial term for "party"), and a distinct informality which allows the audience to get involved and
feel familiarly close to their sound. Although successful, the group disbanded in 1995.
Manu Chao and other bandmates from Mano Negra formed a new group, Radio
Bemba Sound System, featuring artists from widely varying groups such as Tijuana No! (from
Mexico), Skank (from Brazil), and Todos Tus Muertos (from Argentina). The goal was to replicate
the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures; to that end, Manu
Chao and the group spent several years travelling throughout South and Central America,
recording new music as they went. The resulting music differed drastically from Mano Negra; the
songs were primarily sung in Spanish with far fewer French tracks, and the musical style had
shifted from punk and alternative styles to the street vibe Manu Chao was aiming for. The
songs were collectively released as Clandestino in 1998, under Manu Chao's own
name. Though not an instant success, the album gained a steady following in France with hits such
as "Bongo Bong" and "Clandestino", and the album eventually earned the Best World Music
Album award in 1999's Victoires de la Musique awards.
Though Manu Chao is one of the world's best selling artists, he is less well-known in
the English-speaking world. Tours in the United States with Mano Negra never led to much
success in that country, and Manu Chao seems inclined to focus his efforts in Europe and
Latin America, where his musical style finds its roots and his left-wing populism is more widely
greeted.
