 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
Manu Chao: Interview
by Garth Cartwright (January 2002)
This interview took place last August in Paris. Later that evening Manu Chao and his nine-piece band took the stage at Grand Halle De La Villette and performed for more than three hours. Chao was touring in support of his album Proxima Estation: Esperanza (Next Station: Hope), which had quickly racked up several million sales.
While most of Europe was on Chao’s tour itinery, the UK was conspicuously left off. While Chao has galvanised the public in a way unseen since The Beatles heyday across the Continent and Latin America, Britain remains oblivious to Chao’s magic. Perhaps having won the Innovator award at the Radio 3 Awards for World Music, the UK public may finally wake up to his music. Not that this appears to concern him: he’s turned down Later With Jools and WOMAD, and the last time he played in London was a bit of busking on the Central Line four years ago.
A small, youthful looking forty-year-old, Chao speaks a mosaic of languages including fluent English. He’s a straightforward character, eschewing the star antics that often accompany huge success. When the tour finished Chao, as promised in this interview, returned to backpacking. It appears unlikely we will see or hear from him for a good while.
Q: You played a free concert at the Genoa G8 demonstrations the day before everything exploded. What are your feelings about the anti-globalisation movement?
A: I'm completely in support of the anti-globalisation movement. I donate royalties to the Zapatistas in Chiapas, and I don't trust politicians - you've got to act on a neighbourhood level. But the last thing the movement needs is for someone like me to be held up Ìýas its ‘leader’. Getting away from icons and personality cults is what makes the movement so attractive.
Q: You first came to prominence with Mano Negra who were often tagged 'the French Clash' and your music then was a lot more rock. What made you shift to the hybrid of Latin and reggae that has shaped your solo albums?
A: When Mano Negra toured Latin America we found that the local people often didn’t like the rock beat and I wanted to make music that had more appeal to people beyond rock fans. The thing is, the ska rhythm is loved everywhere, it’s employed by lots of Latin American bands, and it’s easy to dance to. Also, with Mano Negra we had to go into a studio for a couple of months to record an album but now the technology is such that I can take the studio as hand luggage. I’ve spent considerable time in Brazil, Madrid, Mexico, North and West Africa and as I develop songs I can record them and the sounds surrounding them.
Q: In the UK you are largely promoted as a World Music artist. What do you think about this label?
A: It’s a lazy label. I mean, I’d like to appeal to people all around the world but my music is only specific to the world I inhabit. I’ll tell you what my definition of world music is and that’s Bob Marley. Wherever you go in the world you’ll always find people listening to Bob Marley. So when I hear the term ‘world music’ I can only think of Marley because he is the one musician that everyone loves. When Mano Negra played in Colombia we found the audience didn’t like our rock rhythms so that’s how I came to adapt a reggae feel. People everywhere appear to enjoy that.
Q: Mano Negra were a cult act: what do you feel has lead to your albums enjoying such huge popularity?
A: There’s no single answer and, to be honest, it’s all been a surprise. I think initially it was the people who work the markets playing Clandestino that helped people hear it. The travelling people, the backpackers, they heard it this way and began playing it. So it’s come about through people hearing it on places other than radio or television.
Q: You have claimed that you have no plans beyond completing this tour. What can we expect to hear next from Manu Chao?
A: Don’t expect anything, I could vanish for six years! I’m serious. I’m enjoying it (success) but I don’t want to be one of those entertainers who get stuck in the fame trap. When this tour finishes I have no plans beyond travelling more. Travel is the best teacher and I want to venture through India and Africa. When we (Mano Negra) played Colombia Ìýall the audience had guns and if they felt you don't respect them you are dead. That kind of reality really teaches you to engage with the music and the culture.
Read our Manu Chao profile.
ÌýÌý//ÌýÌýRadio 3 Awards for World Music
|
|
|
