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M.I.A. ‘Arular’
Coming on like a motorway pile-up of musical influences, M.I.A. (aka 28-year old MC, Maya Arulpragasam) mixes ragga, hip-hop, dance hall, bhangra and old-school electro with admirable results on her much-delayed debut album.
It wouldn’t be unfair to say that you’ve probably never heard anything quite like M.I.A. When Liam Howlett sat down in a million-pound studio to bring the Prodigy’s tired aggro-dance up to date, this is the sound he probably had in mind. Crackling beats, scattergun vocal shots and a sound so fresh that it spread like wildfire across the internet months before its eventual release.
Debut single and calling-card ‘Galang’ tore the roof off London’s underground scene first as the "London calling / Speak the slang now" hook and low-budget beatbox breaks turned West London into a Bronx block party. But this is but the tip of the iceberg as M.I.A. is by no means precious with her styles. Where other more commercial artists may make an album with twelve songs in different styles, Arulpragasam pulls it all together at once like a mixtape of her life.
Having called everywhere from Sri Lanka to India to London home, each gets a nod before being moulded into the M.I.A. sound: The Jamaican percussion of ‘Bingo’, the mariachi trumpets of ‘Bucky Done Gone’ and the electro-pummelling of ‘Hombre’ all reference a different time and place, yet never sound forced.
Initially produced cheaply on a 4-track recorder, a collection of producers (including Pulp’s Steve Mackey, Ross Orton and hit-maker Richard X) helped her realise the final product. From the taunting playground jive of ‘URAQT’ to the disco-party of single ‘Sunshowers’ highlights frequently hit the mark. In fact the only real criticism stems from something entirely out of her control.
As the hype built around ‘Arular’, one of the major reported plus points were the lyrical references that reflected M.I.A.’s background, life and political leanings. Here, apparently, was a new female artist that delivered both musically and lyrically. However, these reports turn out to be, in part, misleading as without a lyric sheet much of the album is somewhat unintelligible. Reference points are sporadically sprinkled but as a whole, ‘Arular’ isn’t the socio-political comment it was billed as.
However, this fades into insignificance as you realise there’s little reason to stay in and be bookish when you could ignite a raging dancefloor with this whole album. Funny, ambitious and unique, this isn’t the sound of a new genre or scene because as yet M.I.A. is peerless.
Jon Ford
M.I.A. 'Arular' (XL Recordings) Released April 18 2005.
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