clandestino

Manu Chao spent three years traveling the world writing and recording the songs and street sounds that would comprise this multi-lingual smorgasbord of worldbeat, electronica, and rock.  Born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao to political parents from the independent Spanish regions of Basque and Galicia, his family had fled to France during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.  His childhood was spent in the outskirts of Paris where he was exposed to a circle of artists and intellectuals.  

He played bass in a neighborhood band that made him the lead singer:  "I was the young man and I was not so strong as them so they decided I would be the singer.  It was not my decision. It was their decision.”  He would move on to form different groups like Hot Pants with his cousin Santiago Casariego, Los Carayos with his brother Tonio, and the three of them started Manu Negra which would swell to an octet that achieved massive success in Europe and South America, before breaking apart during a legendary tour of Colombia on their "Train of Ice and Fire".  They came together one last time to record 'Casa Babylon'.   Chao wanted to carry on with the name; but the rest of the members refused.  At the same time, he went through a romantic breakup and ended up touring the world in a state of depression:    "I woke up many mornings thinking maybe I wanted to kill myself. I thought I had lost my instinct, I was thinking only with my reason. A cow saved my life, though...I was in a bar in Rio and a cow walked in, I looked into its eyes, and I saw such tranquillidad, serenity. Then I started seeing cows everywhere. I realise why the Indians worship them."  

During that time Chao began working with Radio Bemba Sound System and recording new songs that emulated the street music of the various countries in which they toured.  Chao considers:    "I had a bad addiction to travel...Clandestino was the result of that time – I didn’t know I was making a record. It was pure therapy.”

When he returned to Paris, he teamed up with Renaud Letang who helped him sort through the many tracks to focus on what would become 'Clandestino'.  At first they produced a sound that was heavily influenced by electronica; but, after a computer virus, the electronic elements were jpartially erased, leaving a more lean organic beauty. 

'Clandestino' went to number nineteen in France at first and then left the chart; but word of mouth led to a reemergence on the charts a year later, when it would go to number eighty in Spain, twenty in Italy, fourteen in Germany, and number one in France, where it remained on the charts for four years.  'Clandestino' was given the Best World Music Album award at the Victoires de la Musique awards and would evenually sell over five million copies worldwide, including more than half a million in the US.   





http://www.manuchao.net/en/








"Bongo Bong" became an international underground sensation, charting at number seven in Germany.  It is a remake of Mano Negra's song, "King of Bongo" and evokes the 1939 song "King of the Bongo Bong" by the trumpeter Roy Eldridge.






"Clandestino" features snippets of a speech by Subcomandante Marcos.  




'Clandestino'
full album:


1. "Clandestino" (Spanish) 2:30
2. "Desaparecido" (Spanish) 3:47
3. "Bongo Bong" (English) 2:38
4. "Je Ne T'Aime Plus" (French) 2:02
5. "Mentira ..." (Spanish) 4:37
6. "Lágrimas de Oro" (Spanish) 2:57
7. "Mama Call" (English) 2:21
8. "Luna y Sol" (Spanish) 3:07
9. "Por el Suelo" (Spanish) 2:21
10. "Welcome to Tijuana" (Spanish+English) 4:04
11. "Día Luna... Día Pena" (Spanish) 1:30
12. "Malegría" (Spanish) 2:55
13. "La Vie a 2" (French) 3:00
14. "Minha Galera" (Portuguese) 2:21
15. "La Despedida" (Spanish) 3:09
16. "El Viento" (Spanish)