Manu Chao Previews ‘Clandestino’ Reissue With New Song ‘Bloody Bloody Border’

It’s been over 20 years since the French-Spanish luminary, Manu Chao, first released his multilingual, landmark debut, Clandestino. A prescient meditation on the neither-here-nor-there, limbo state of “clandestinos” — the Spanish equivalent of a derogatory term for undocumented migrants — Clandestino saw Chao traverse a multitude of languages and genres through field recordings sourced from various parts of the world. On Friday, Chao bounces back from a long hiatus with “Bloody Bloody Border,” one of three new songs on an upcoming reissue of his debut, titled Clandestino/Bloody Border, slated for release August 30th via Because Music.

The son of two refugees from Franco-era Spain, Chao connects the dots between dire circumstances that once forced his family — and today, countless families south of the U.S.-Mexico border — to seek refuge in the north. The singer-songwriter conjured the lyrics to “Bloody Bloody Border” while passing through Arizona on tour in 2011, reflecting on the inhumane conditions reported from migrant camps along the U.S.-Mexico border. Chao offsets the sobering context with a deceptively peppy ukelele strum, dousing his protest slogans with rays of sunshine. “We want freedom to cross,” he sings with a dusky, cowboy affect: “Cross the border line/Freedom is not crime/Let’s peaceful river flow/Let the people come and go.”

Chao recently gave “Clandestino” a rework with the legendary Trinidadian vocalist, Calypso Rose. Fellow polyglot Lila Downs also put her own spin on the song, highlighting the plight of migrant mothers and their children.

Clandestino / Bloody Border Track List

1. “Clandestino”
2. “Desaparecido”
3. “Bongo Bong”
4. “Je Ne T’aime Plus”
5. “Mentira…”
6. “Lagrimas De Oro”
7. “Mama Call”
8. “Luna Y Sol”
9. “Por El Suelo”
10. “Welcome To Tijuana”
11. “Dia Luna… Dia Pena”
12. “Malegria”
13. “La Vie A 2”
14. “Minha Galera”
15. “La Despedida”
16. “El Viento”
17. “Clandestino” (feat. Calypso Rose)
18. “Bloody Bloody Border”
19. “Roadies Rules”