Voodoo Mano

Mano Negra were a French band founded and fronted by singer Manu Chao. Manu took his roots- Galician- Basque parents, Cuban heritage, upbringing on the outskirts of Paris (the family had fled Spain when Franco issued a death sentence to Manu's grandfather)- and fused them with all the excitement of punk, folk, ska, rockabilly, reggae, salsa, rai, hip hop and everything else he'd heard coming out of the speakers in a multi- cultural Paris suburb. They would switch between singing in Spanish, French, Arabic and English, sometimes within the same song, and found success in Europe and South America, supported Iggy Pop on a US tour, but they were never more than a cult concern in the UK. 

In 1989 they made Puta's Fever, eighteen slices of high energy, fully committed, world fusion/ rock 'n' roll. Voodoo is from that album and starts off like some drunken French uncles singing at a wedding. Then a whistle blows, the drums thump in and the song kicks in, bass pumping away and Manu singing, 'Last night I saw you diggin' in my cemetery baby/ Now you better watch out/ Cause you can't get back from Voodoo!'. Tyres screech and layers of varnish are scrubbed from the acoustic guitars. 

Voodoo

Mano Negra formed in 1987 and split in 1994. When touring Puta's Fever they'd often abandon the stage and troop outside to play the encore in the streets. After the split Manu Chao went solo making several albums and touring with his Radio Bemba Sound System. His self described patchwork style of music and solid left wing politics and activism place him as one of the true inheritors of punk and The Clash, someone who walks the walk as well as talking the talk. I thought I had one of his albums, 2001's Proxima Estacion: Esperanza but it's not on the shelf under either M or C so your guess is as good as mine. 

Politik Kills

I have shamelessly purloined some of this post from a comment thread at Sun Dried Sparrows. The man in the photo above, who looks like he could have been pictured yesterday, is Lewis Powell (or Payne). He was a Confederate soldier who attempted to assassinate William H. Seward and one of four people hanged for their part in the Lincoln assassination conspiracy. Powell, from Alabama, was photographed unwillingly in his cell while awaiting the noose and his stare through the camera is stunning, utterly contemporary and one of the reasons I find portrait photography from the mid 19th century through to circa the 1930s so interesting. The people look out at us, from another time, boxed off in history but still alive and human. There's more if you do an image search.

I've run out of bandwidth at Boxnet- you may have noticed. I did think about getting a second account with a different email but haven't got round to it. Luckily there's tons of stuff on the internet- like this roots reggae style Prince Fatty remix of Manu Chao's of Politik Kills. And politik kills or killed Lewis Powell.

Manu Chao grew up in France after his parents fled from Spain, his grandfather sentenced to death by Franco's regime. Busking led him eventually to Mano Negra, a French group inspired by The Clash. Their hybrid of French, Italian, Arabic and Spanish music along with punk, ska, and rai led to success across Europe (except here pretty much). After Mano Negra he spent several years touring central and south America in a train. Manu's music is punk in spirit and global street sounds in style. Almost any of his albums are worth checking out.



We are off to the Peoples' Republic of Sheffield for a couple of days and I've not set up any posts for while I'm away. Originally we planned to camp but the forecast has dissuaded us. See you in a couple of days.