Posted June 7, 200718 yr ‘KALA’, a track by track review... ‘Bamboo Banger’ Opens (progressively less) annoying/grating refrain, “M.I.A is coming back with power, power”, repeated over and over, “knocking on the doors of your Hummer, Hummer”, accompanied by a sample of cars speeding along in the background, in a similar vein to Visnadi’s ‘Racing Tracks’ or even Yello’s ‘The Race’. A few minutes in, the slow heavy beat kicks in, then the rave-like synth stabs, making for a raw, uncompromising cut. Featuring as it does the lyrics, “We moving with packs like hyena yena/Barbarella looks like she’s my dead ringer/When I’m dogging on the bonner of ya Red Honda”, this is unlikely to be a radio hit anytime soon. A grower. ‘Bird Flu’ You know this one. If not, listen here ‘Boyz’ The new single. Listen here ‘Jimmy’ This cover of an old Bollywood disco-style song is Maya’s most out-and-out ‘pop’ track yet and a potential commercial crossover hit, though she can’t resist tinkering with the original’s lyrics. Listen closely to the opening refrain and you’ll hear, “take me on a trip to Darfur/take me on a genocide tour”, backed by strings and a disco beat that wouldn’t sit out of place on a Beyonce track. ‘Hustle’ Sounds incredible: a towering, elastic bassline hits you slap-bang in the solar plexus while dizzying layers of percussion leave your head spinning. You can hear the B-more influences, with those huge rave stabs, and the sound of Trinidad carnival in those huge-sounding drums. “Why has everyone got hustle on their minds?” asks Maya. To which guest MC Afrikan Boy responds, “You think it’s tough here, you should come to Africa..” ‘Down River’ It’s a rare thrill to hear aboriginal kids rapping on record. Originally recorded by Sydney-based hip-hop producer Morganics with kids in the bush as part of a social outreach project, ‘Down River’ has a real old-school hip-hop feel to it, with the kids (and they sound like young kids) taking turns to rap. The production is simple and stripped back, with a digeredoo humming away as a makeshift bassline. ‘$20’ Grime-meet-electro-meets-rave-meets-M.I.A: “War war war/Talking bout y’all’s/Such a bore/I’d rather talk about moi”. Bound to be huge in clubs like Fabric Live and sure to be a favourite with the likes of Sinden, Diplo, Herve, Switch and Radioclit, though the decision to run her voice through a vocoder on the chorus may prove regrettable. ‘World Town’ “Hands up/Guns Out/Represent the World Town” – a wild, futuristic sounding production (from Switch) that stretches, meshes and playfully f***s around with gunshot samples, fierce drumming and Eastern melodies. ‘The Turn’ On which Maya (sort of) sings rather than (loosely) raps: “The war in me makes warrior/like a pitbull getting’ with a terrior/I’m better off in North Korea/Droppin’ from the barriel of a carrier.” ‘XR2’ Maya leaked this stripped-down, Diplo-produced ode to raving back in ’92 (“Labyrinth, World Dance, Bagleys time”) onto her MySpace late last year. By comparison to the rest of ‘Kala’ though it sounds limp – certainly the weakest track on the album. Listen here ‘Paper Planes’ Brilliant, anthemic, Blur-sampling (‘Sing’) club banger produced by Baltimore’s DJ Blaqstarr. The chorus – sung by kids and featuring a sample of gun loading – is unnervingly catchy and discomforting. Bonus track: ‘Come Around’ The Timbaland-produced cut, which was one of the better numbers on his awful recent solo album ‘Shockvalue'. Listen here Out here 20th August :D WOO
June 7, 200718 yr Really excited about this :D Arular is amazing :wub: Hope she delivers this time too ^_^
June 7, 200718 yr I LOOOOOOVE "Boyz" - wouldn't have sounded right without the speech marks :lol: I hope this is as good as Arular
June 7, 200718 yr Author "Arular" was a masterpiece imo :wub: Album of 2005 WITHOUT DOUBT Hope this is close to as good if not better <3
June 10, 200718 yr I'm addicted to Boyz :wub: It says above you can listen to Bird Flu? i havent heard that :(.
June 11, 200718 yr Official Album Art for 'Kala' http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e3/MIA_Kalaoff.jpg
June 11, 200718 yr I wasn't a big fan of her old stuff but have to admit...am loving her new stuff! Oh and one thing...why is her new album called 'Kala' which basically translates in Urdu/Punjabi 'Black'? :blink: :lol:
June 11, 200718 yr Author OKAY, SORRY...I DIDN'T KNOW. You have nothing to be sorry for :lol: I was only telling you! You asked because you didn't know. I understand that :D
June 11, 200718 yr You have nothing to be sorry for :lol: I was only telling you! You asked because you didn't know. I understand that :D Okay lol...I just thought you were having a go at me because you typed in capitals. :teresa: lol I really like the name actually...pretty unique, don't you think? ^_^ Edited June 11, 200718 yr by Mowbli
June 11, 200718 yr Author I ALWAYS type in caps :o Its a great title I agree, she named the debut after her father so this name for this album makes sense :D
June 16, 200718 yr Author I know :o I want it now, I hope it leaks soon. She's GOD at the moment for me <333
July 16, 200718 yr Author Album clips have leaked :o OH MY THIS IS SHAPING UP TO BE MY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
July 16, 200718 yr You can tell from the clips, this is going to be a corker of an album! :wub: Jimmy in High Quality is mindblowing! Seriously cant wait for it now :D
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