MIA - Arular on CD

Description

Arular is the sort of record that gets people talking. The debut full-length by Maya Arulpragasam, a refugee of Sri Lankan heritage who settled in London, attended Saint Martin's art school, and designed sleeves for Elastica, it's already set a few dancefloors on fire and stirred up no small amount of controversy in the process. In brief summary: its name is a reference to her father, an active member of the Sri Lankan guerrilla movement Tamil Tigers, a militancy which extends to the album within: "I got the bombs to make you blow", she sings on "Pull Out The People". Still, whatever you make of the ideology, there's no doubting the excellent tunes: self-penned on a basic groovebox and fleshed out with help from producers like Pulp's Steve Mackay and Richard X, the likes of "Bucky Done Gun" and "Galang" dice together all manner of global styles – hip-hop, Bhangra, Jamaican dancehall – and top it off with unmistakable, multi-cultural London sass. Best of all is "Hombre", a come-hither number that should get the boys trembling at the knees: "Excuse me little hombre/ Take my number, call me/ I can get squeaky so/ You can come and oil me" --Louis Pattison Review This eagerly awaited debut from M.I.A. is as confrontational as marmite, and looks set to be one of the albums of the year. The music is peppered with gunshot beats and juddering giger counter bass. The lyrics are equally up front, flavoured by bombs, terrorism, kidnap and revolution. 'Load up, aim, fire, fire, bo!' shrieks Maya Arulpragasam, the 28 year old mc who is M.I.A. Given her background this full clip aggression isn't surprising. She spent her early youth in Sri Lanka, the daughter of a Tamil insurgent, relocated to the UK as a refugee, and ended up in a South London council estate. Some aren't convinced, seeing the media as hyping up the album because of her exotic past. Those who love her find her songs as poetic an autobiography of a troubled life as Dizzee Rascal's Boy In Da Corner. Another point of contention is the beats. Arular has been criticised of being a mere pastiche of dancehall, electro, hip hop and Rio-baile funk (the in your face, hook laden booty bashing party music of the Brazilian Favelas). But really this is what urban music should be; a concoction of sounds that could only be cooked up in the crucible ofa multi-cultural city. Purity equals snobbery in my book. Arular is a massive success because it is crammed with so much sonic variety. Picks are as follows: The Diplo produced "Bucky Done Gone", with its marching band trumpet, big bass drum and frantic eighties back beat; the achingly beautiful "Sunshowers" with its unsettling, unusual but ooh-so alluring vo-coded harmonies; and, of course, Galang, the underground smash of 2004 that started it all. M.I.A. stands for both Missing In Action and Missing In Acton. You're going to be hearing a lot more from this fierce new talent. 

TRACKS

Banana Skit 0.35
Pull Up The People 3.44
Bucky Done Gun 3.47
Sunshowers 3.15
Fire Fire 3.28
Dash The Curry Skit 0.40
Amazon 4.15
Bingo 3.12
Hombre 4.01
One For The Head Skit 0.28
10 Dollar 4.01
U.R.A.Q.T 2.55
Galang 7.21