Five questions to: Manu Chao

The french /spanih artist Manu Chao promote live CD/DVD Baionarena and the download Radio Station: La Colifata - an album recorded at La Colifata psychiatric hospital in Buenos Aires .

Question 1 -Baionarena, the live CD and DVD was released on Monday 19th of October. What made you decide to do this compilation?
Manu Chao - 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.

Question 2 - 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.
Manu Chao - 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.

Question 3 - The lyrics are the patients’, along with your music?
Manu Chao - 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.

Question 4 - ou 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?
Manu Chao - 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.

Question 5 - You don’t ever wonder why?
Manu Chao - 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!

(From http://www.openmagazine.co.uk/sound/article/exclusive-manu-chao/)