Manu Chao is a one-man world-music melting pot. Born to Spanish parents in Paris but seduced by the British punk movement of the late-70s, he made his first splash on the international music scene as the co-founder of the guerilla rock-rap-flamenco fusion band Mano Negra. After conquering his native France, South America and the Caribbean with that band, Chao launched a solo career with 1998s acclaimed Clandestino. That record, like 2001s Proxima Estacion: Esperanza after it, showcased Chao as a fearlessly inventive mix-master of ethnic and modern influences, from Latin rock to reggae to techno, as well as languages (he sings in French, English and Spanish). In 2005, after releasing the live Radio Bemba Sound System, Chao produced Amadou & Mariams Dimanche a Bamako, a widely acclaimed album that introduced the blind Mali couples delightful Afro-pop to fans across the world. Last summer, Chao turned his focus back on his music, releasing his first new studio album in six years, La Radiolina.