Manu Chao

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397,179 listeners (12,035,998 plays)

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reggae, latin, alternative, world, ska… see all

Manu Chao is a French Latin folk singer of Galician origin.

Manu Chao was a well-known member of the Parisian alternative music scene, in bands such as Hot Pants and Los Carayos. In 1987, Chao, his brother Antoine Chao and their cousin Santiago Casariego founded the band Mano Negra. Mano Negra met with success in France first with the hit single

Mala Vida, then toured South America. The band split in 1995.

He sings in French, Spanish, Arabic, Galician, Portuguese, English, Italian, and Wolof, often mixing them in the same song. He is one of the world’s largest selling artists, but is less known in the English-speaking world.

His music has many influences: rock, French chanson, Spanish-American salsa, reggae, ska and Algerian rai. These influences were obtained from immigrants in France, his Iberian relations, and foremost his travels in Mesoamerica as a wandering nomad following the disbanding of Mano Negra. Many of Chao’s lyrics are about political issues (e.g. immigration, global social justice, conflict, and strongly leftist critique of exploitative economic globalization) but also about love, lifestyles in different parts of the world, and music itself, which is hopeful for the future and at the same time dramatic. Chao is openly critical of the Bush administration in the US. He has many followers among the European left and the anti-globalization movement.

Manu Chao’s music does not follow a logical textual narrative, but in its ecclectic construction it invokes a deeper understanding of its subject than any literal form could. He sings songs about the people of the streets, the outer provinces, and the marginalised; he sings with the forgotten and uncounted billions, the underclass, and in so doing he speaks about the fragility of human kind.

1	Bongo Bong	3,450
2	Clandestino	2,604
3	Me gustas tu	2,449
4	Je Ne T'aime Plus	1,876
5	Welcome to Tijuana	1,860
6	Desaparecido	1,825
7	Por El Suelo	1,467
8	El Viento	1,409
9	Minha Galera	1,373
10	La primavera full track	1,303
11	La Despedida	1,281
12	Mama Call	1,256
13	Rainin in Paradize	1,209
14	Lagrimas de Oro	1,201
15	Luna y Sol	1,179

Top Albums

Clandestino
Manu Chao
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Proxima Estacion: Esperanza
Manu Chao
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La Radiolina
Manu Chao
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Radio Bemba Sound System
Manu Chao
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Shoutbox

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xbroadwayaddict wrote:
Friday afternoon

Je ne t'aime plus, mon amour... Je ne t'aime plus, tous les jours

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LifeOfGreece wrote:
Friday afternoon

great artist! :D

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ninja_pf wrote:
Thursday evening

positive :)

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david_87jf wrote:
Thursday afternoon

sencillamente el mejor del mundo, marcara una epoca seguro

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FamChinaski wrote:
Thursday morning

EROE!

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Jerome38 wrote:
last month

L'album "Sibérie m'était contéee" est moins écouté mais est de grande qualité :)

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adifferentstory wrote:
last month

Un genio!

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ApocalypseAelis wrote:
last month

oh God, I just found this guy and he's amazing. Love his Spanish songs the most.

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Affenkoenig wrote:
last month

muy bien :)

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elsimondark wrote:
last month

:)

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Boebis wrote:
last month

people interested in french music shall visit the blog http://french-kisses.blogspot.com ! All about french artist, from the top new singers to the golden oldies, from underground rock, to rap and pop.

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cristobalin wrote:
last month

los tags correctos son con o sin tildes? xke lagrimas de oro no tiene....

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tarantaran00 wrote:
last month

para cuando viene a españa?????????ya es horaaa

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RockMods wrote:
last month

I'm the king of bongo baby, I'm the king of bongo bong !

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Andr3sss wrote:
last month

no van a venir a guadalajara? =(

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solomonarul wrote:
last month

Spanish is simple http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/e/languages/spanish/index.html

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iseelotus wrote:
last month

help me learn Spanish... Gracias!

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smileyfacewater wrote:
last month

so goood.

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bluemattthew wrote:
last month

I love this musician

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Para-Normaal wrote:
last month

me gusta manu chao, me gustas tú!

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12…24 Next

Listeners

Netset99
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DrBrontosaurus
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CuriousDan
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bakmanhans
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amos1969
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inthebalance
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Events

Sep 6 Manu Chao Coliseo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Write a review
Sep 25 Manu Chao Stubb's Bar-B-Q, Austin, United States
1 shout | 1 attendee
Sep 26 Austin City Limits Music Festival 2008 Zilker Park, Austin, United States
76 shouts | 520 attendees

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Recent Activity

nobo9, jlcampos3, cgraze and 14 other people added Manu Chao to their libraries. 30 minutes ago
apatia connected Manu Chao to the group Stay Free. 11 hours ago
JancoPro, Arahya, macriii and 3 other people added Manu Chao to their libraries. 11 hours ago
huapi tagged Manu Chao with ‘latin’. yesterday evening
seilaway, likethegoddess, artlimb and 4 other people added Manu Chao to their libraries. yesterday evening
aliberte9 tagged Manu Chao with ‘world music’. yesterday afternoon
tomscott61, 4gatha, mujerendiagonal and 6 other people added Manu Chao to their libraries. yesterday afternoon
vamosanna tagged Manu Chao with ‘ska’. yesterday afternoon
Juliatejera, GeoSte, limejelly and 5 other people added Manu Chao to their libraries. yesterday afternoon
Naicob tagged Manu Chao with ‘reggae’ and ‘ska’. last month