HIGH TIMES INTERVIEW: MANU CHAO

Interview by Danny Danko

Photographs by Jason Gardner

Born in Spain and raised in France, Manu Chao originally distinguished himself as a member of the highly influential world-music band Mano Negra. As a solo artist, he’s one of the world’s best-selling performers, singing his incredible songs in more than five languages and leaving sold-out audiences ecstatic in his wake. His politically charged songs speak of poverty and injustice; a musical plea for peace set to an irresistible beat that blends punk rock, reggae, ska and latin rhythms into a unique sound that has yet to seduce mainstream American listeners. Chao just put the finishing touches on a new album, La Radiolina, his first international studio release since 2001’s wildly popular Próxima Estación: Esperanza. After a rare U.S. concert appearance outdoors in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, Chao sat down for a sangria, a spliff and an even rarer interview exclusively for the readership of HIGH TIMES.

The title of your album from 2001 translates as Next Stop: Hope. Do you still have hope in the face of all the world’s struggles?
The more the situation is difficult, the more you have to have hope. All humans must have hope. Sometimes in the First World, we have forgotten what is hope. In the Third World, they never forget, because every morning they need hope to feed their children.

Does your music have the power to make change?
I don’t know; it’s not for me to say. I do my music with all my heart and my soul. Music for me is my way to accept this world—to caramelize my rage into something positive. When you live in this fucking world, the first reaction is rage. This negative is no good. I want the people to decide.

What do you want people to know about your new album?
The new album is called La Radiolina. I’m very proud of it and all the musicians who play on it. We had a lot of fun making it and I hope the people enjoy hearing it. We make this music for the people.

Tell me about doing the music for Emir Kusturica’s new film about [soccer legend] Diego Maradona.
It’s only a small collaboration. My job is only to drink beers and sing my song about Diego. The film is a nice opportunity for me, because I make friends with Diego. He’s my friend and he’s an artist. He has good things and bad things, like everyone, but he was also a hero in my neighborhood, and you never forget that.

I wrote the song about him, and also about destiny. One month ago, we went to Buenos Aires, and I sing my little song to Diego. He was happy with it. I don’t know if Emir is going to put it in the movie, but for me it was a big honor to know Diego. He is a great guy!

What role does marijuana play in your creative process?
Marijuana is part of my inspiration. I don’t use marijuana every day, every time. Before I get onstage, I never smoke. In the studio, I smoke a lot. Onstage, I need another kind of mood—maybe I drink a little schnapps or something.

I use marijuana a lot in the studio when I’m cooling down. When I’m home, I smoke a lot—especially when I’m cooling with my friends. I also try to never smoke when I don’t have a pen with me, and a guitar. Without a pen and guitar, if I smoke I get nervous, because the ideas fly, fly, fly!

Marijuana is very important to my process when writing and working, but onstage, in front of people, I prefer a little alcohol. It gives me more … strength

Do you remember the first time you smoked marijuana?

Long time ago. In my neighborhood where I grew up in France, we start smoking. Very quickly, we start selling. We were busy! We picked up a lot of girls with that and had a lot of fun. After that, the hard drugs came. I will always remember this day in my life - a very important day. I remember the big guys of the gang came and bring some kind of fucking white thing. We didn’t know what it was. They said, “Forget marijuana, now we’re gonna sell this.” It was heroin. I remember thinking in my mind, “This is poison and death.” We were five friends - two of us, we said “no,” but three other guys said “yeah.” Actually, all three are now dead.

This day was very important to me. We didn’t know what it was at the time and it was the trendy thing. I don’t know why, but I think my life is… [long pause] …because I said “no.” My three other friends are dead from this shit.

And yet marijuana is tied together to hard drugs by the government and the media. Is there a solution?
Personally, I think it’s important to legalize all types of drugs. Even hard drugs! Because all this business is just more money for the mafia and the mafia is the worst enemy of democracy. With the money from drugs, they buy weapons and make big fucking bad business. For society, it’s important to take this money out of the hands of organized crime.

It’s the same with marijuana. I always try to smoke homegrown marijuana. I don’t like this fucking commercial marijuana. In Europe, they have industrial marijuana that never touches the earth or sees the sun. The one that’s grown in factories. It’s transgenic - I don’t like this one. There’s nothing there. Sometimes, yes, I smoke it, but I try to avoid.

In Spain, many people grow marijuana.
Yes, homemade so we know it’s good! The chemicals some people use elsewhere are very far from the earth. They kill with that. I like homemade marijuana, natural from the earth. I need sun for life. Naturally!

When I’m hungry, I’ll eat dog food, but I prefer a salad! [Laughter]. The salad that you buy from a supermarket is different from the salad given from a friend - something that they grow themselves in their garden. A real salad is something beautiful! Salad from the supermarket? No taste. You have to keep adding something to make more flavor.

In France, when we were young, marijuana was difficult to find but because we are close to Africa, there was a lot of hashish.

In France and Spain.

Yes! Spain is the road. All of it comes through there. Now things are changed - more and more marijuana has appeared. People are growing! They make three or five plants and they can smoke for months and share with friends. In Barcelona, September is a good month!

Manu, thanks for your time.
Thanks for HIGH TIMES!

Manu Chao’s newest album, La Radiolina, comes out September 4, 2007. Visit manuchao.net for more info.

Manu Chao's Albums:

Clandestino
This album contains "Desaparecido", Manu’s memorial song for the many “disappeared” Central and South American activists and organizers as well as “Clandestino", his ode to undocumented immigrants worldwide. There's also the irresistibly bouncy "Bongo Bong" and "Welcome to Tijuana" with its memorable lyrics, "Welcome to Tijuana/Tequila, sex and marijuana!"

Proxima Estacion: Esperanza
On this record, Manu and the others sing in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish on songs such as the wonderful "Me Gustas Tu" (Me gusta marijuana/Me Gustas Tu!") as well as Manu's amazing Bob Marley tribute song, "Mr. Bobby", with it's plea to the dearly departed singer, "Hey Bobby Marley/Sing something good to me/ This world go crazy/It's an emergency!"

La Radiolina
Though not yet released at press time, this album promises to expand Manu Chao's audience worldwide. If the single, "Rainin In Paradize" (available for free download at manuchao.net) is any indication, many great songs lie within. Incidentally, the video for the first single was directed by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica.