Exclusive - Manu Chao
Manu Chao is the antithesis of manufactured, cynical music. The multilingual singer/songwriter may have sold millions of copies worldwide and be a singing superstar and something of a hero in the Latin world, but he retains his honesty and integrity. It's about the music and creating something decent. Recent sold out dates at Brixton Academy and headlining Lovebox in 2008 proved that his status as politically conscious troubadour is gaining momentum in the UK too.
On a brief visit to London to promote live CD/DVD Baionarena and the download Radio Station: La Colifata - an album recorded at La Colifata psychiatric hospital in Buenos Aires - I caught up with Chao at his friend’s house in Brixton. When I arrive he is sitting on the sofa, and beckons me to sit next to him. Throughout the interview he takes time to think about his answers, and taps my arm from time to time when he feels a point is particularly important.
Baionarena, the live CD and DVD was released on Monday 19th of October. What made you decide to do this compilation?
Coincidence. We were touring in France, and I hadn’t toured there for 7 or 8 years so it was like seeing part of my life again, it was a great tour. There was an opportunity to record one of the shows in Baiona, which is where my mother comes from. It was also the last gig of the tour so after that we could have a big party.
You’ve also made Radio Station: La Colifata featuring patients from the psychiatric hospital of the same name. How did this collaboration come about?
We made the live recording with my music and their lyrics. It’s a free download, if people want to donate money they can, but they decided the music should be free. The lyrics are absolutely incredible.
The first time I heard about the patients was six or seven years ago in Barcelona. My neighbour was the Argentinean filmmaker Carlos Laronda and he’d been filming La Colifata for 15 years. He wanted to make a movie but had no money so he edited it in my home. The first time I met one of the patients was in Brazil, at an anti-globalisation meeting. After that a few of them came to meet me in Barcelona and we made some CD’s together. They’ve also performed with me and Radio Bemba and were in the music video for Raining in Paradise which was directed by Emir Kusturica. Every Saturday afternoon Radio Colifata is broadcast live from the park of the hospital.
The lyrics are the patients’, along with your music?
Yes, the lyrics are the important part. I think this is one of the most beautiful things I’ve done in my life, in music. My only worry is the language barrier, of course if you speak Spanish you get the poetry. If you don’t it’s more difficult, however curiously in France they say “man, I don’t understand anything but I start crying” so maybe it works. I don’t know, the first reactions are good.
You have an extremely loyal following, particularly in the Latin world, and you’ve played to very large crowds. How do you feel when you’re on a stage, with thousands of fans singing along to your songs?
A week ago in Cuba, I was invited to play a show for 200 people, they said “come with your acoustic guitar, and bring your friends”. Due to word of mouth there were 20,000 people! I don’t know how it happens but there are a lot of people around the world that like our music. Why I don’t know.
You don’t ever wonder why?
No, I think about my next song, or what I’m going to do next. Thinking about why things happen is bad. It’s not really my problem. What I know is that this happened naturally, I’m not a guy that goes on TV or the radio every day, so it’s not a marketing thing. When I go to a bar where there’s a lot of good music and to try and make me happy they play my music, I really think it’s the worst thing they’ve played all night!
How important is it to you that people know you who are, and buy your records?
That people know who I am can be good, can be bad. Whether they buy or download it for free, it’s not important for me. What’s important is to have the opportunity to spread your ideas and what you think about life, the world, society…you have the responsibility because you have access to the mic.
Do you feel musicians should become more involved in political or social issues?
Sure. It’s an emergency. If we stay like this, it’s collective suicide. The conscience of the majority can do little things to change the course of this craziness. For the moment we’re still losing the race.
You’ve travelled to very poor areas and seen quite upsetting things.
It’s not very hard to go to poor areas, the majority of the planet is poor.
There always seems to be a lot of hope in your songs. What gives you this hope?
I learnt this in the poor areas. I was born and raised in the Western world. It’s very easy to get depressed. In poor areas you cannot afford to get depressed, you have to be optimistic all the time. When you have four kids and you wake up in the morning and you have to feed them, you have no time to be depressed.
Which artists are you finding inspiring at the moment?
I’ve just come back from Cuba, and in every corner there are incredible artists that are 10,000 times better than me. If you go to Brazil, Bahia…everybody is an artist, from the taxi drivers, to the fishermen…
If you mean the music business, in general I don’t think this is the best moment. I think it’s good because it means that soon a brand new wave will come from somewhere; but now I think people feel how they did before the arrival of punk. I’ m not a big fan but the last big wave was electronic music. We need something fresh that nobody expects, I think it’s time now.
Do you have any plans to tour in the UK soon?
I don’t know yet. I always make very short schedules. For the moment the only tour that is almost decided is South America in November. The last tour in the UK was nice; my aim is to come back but the world is big. I don’t like to know what I’m going to do in September next year as I don’t know what the world will be like.
And with that I thank Chao for his time, and he says he hopes it wasn’t too much trouble getting to Brixton to meet him. For a multi-million selling artist, he displays a humbleness and awareness that is rarely seen these days.
Baionarena is out now on Because Music
Radio Station: La Colifata is available for free download from www.vivalacolifata.org. Donations are welcome.
