Manu Chao Essentials

Manu Chao Essentials

French-born Spaniard Manu Chao is a bustling international market unto himself, his songs teeming with languages and musical styles. This playlist doubles as a whirlwind (and highly eclectic) world-music tour. Chao uses Jamaican bass and Mexican brass to drawl out “Welcome to Tijuana”, teams with Mali's Amadou et Mariam on the frequency-switching sway of “Sénégal fast food”, and stirs together French folk, gypsy music and Palestinian hip-hop into the alluring “Checkpoint Rock”. The polyglot performer mashes and resolves clashing sounds with verve, no passport necessary.

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