MANO NEGRA

DOSSIER March 2001
by elMago

Mano Negra appeared in the late eighties when Manu Chao, his brother Antonio and their cousin Santiago Casariego, with some other friends felt the need of getting together to mingle their musical experiences within a single group.

Their first record was released in 1988 under the name that was to become trademark for their music: Patchanka. The label was Boucherie, owned by their friend François Hajidi-Lazaro from Los Carayos. The record was well received by the public, even though in this first recording the band was unable to transmit all the energy displayed at their live presentations...

In order to earn the band deserved success, their sound had to reach beyond the French borders. This led to the signing of a contract with Virgin records, in which, however the band's claim of artistic independence was made clear. Puta's Fever (the title reflects some of the members not too positive appraisal of their change to the new label) was released in 1989, consolidating Mano Negra's reputation as one of the best bands of their time and spreading their music around the globe.

Mano Negra went on to attempt the conquest of the US, accompanying singer Iggy Pop in his tour, but the experience brought them disappointment. Their sound was still too intimately related to the Latin culture.
In 1991 King Of Bongo was released , displaying marked musical influence of the North American experience.
Following their 8 - concert tour in Japan, the band recorded their one and only official live record: In The Hell Of Patchinko, to which we owe the possibility of appreciating their full potential.
1992 brought their first Latin American adventure : the Cargo Tour. On board of a boat , the band toured the most significant harbors in the continent taking their music from fiesta to fiesta... an experience that left its mark on many bands of the lost continent.

In the following year, they attempted something even more daring: taking advantage from Colombia's wrecked railway line to play at every town and pueblo on their way among guerillas, drug dealers and the military. This adventure is related by Ramon Chao, Manu's father, in his book " The ice and fire train". The experiences they had in those lands found their way into their last work, released in 1994, under the title of Casa Babylon. This extraordinary album is mostly the conceptual product of Manu, almost as a solo artist, for the group had quite a few "casualties" during the Colombian trip. From that moment on, they were to follow each his own path...

Records [up]
  Patchanka
   1988 Boucherie - Album
 

Main contributions [up]
  BSO Barrio
   1998 Esan Ozenki - Compilation
 

News [up]
  19.04.2010: La Mano sans Manu... (Français)
  23.11.2005: Nouveau DVD de la MANO NEGRA (Français)
  10.06.2005: CRONICAS DE ROCK MESTIZO - Música sin papeles (Castellano)

Forum [up]
  The Forum for Mano Negra

Artists related [up]
  Hot Pants
  Manu Chao
  P18
  Flor del Fango
  Carlos de Nicaragua
  Fidel Nadal

Links [up]
  www.la-mano-negra.com
  www.out-of-time.fr
  www.audiokat.com/artistas.asp?aid=00000072

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