22 Quotes by Manu Chao

The capitalist system is out of control. Everybody should be their own leader. In our own lives and families and neighbourhoods, we can find solutions to live together in a more soulful way. Everybody can do it. That's what I try to do in my neighbourhood.

I was raised in France, and the American culture was present everywhere. On TV, on the radio.

I was born in France, but I would have been happy to have been born in Senegal or in Romania or Japan. I don't care. This planet is both so small and so big, but I'm part of it.

I write new lyrics as I'm traveling and I like to record in the place where I had the original idea. Sometimes I rerecord when I get back to Barcelona because I have more-power studio there.

I'm not a real producer, so if someone asks me to produce, it's only because they like my sound. I'm not a professional, all I have is my own way of doing things, my little tricks.

My best capacity is to edit. If anything, I am a specialist at editing: my usual approach is to record a song very long. In the beginning just jam, jam on and on. Then break the song and play with it.

A lot of people say my songs are political, but that's not by plan. It's because I never found a place where everything is OK, so I just write about what my reality is, follow my instinct.

What 'Clandestino' is talking about is problems of borders, and more and more hermetic borders all around the world.

Imagine thousands and thousands of years ago, when the human race was born in Africa, if we'd not allowed them to get out of Africa then we wouldn't exist.