M.I.A* – Kala

M.I.A., born Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, has become one of the most prominent names in popular urban electronic music today. Her song “Paper Planes” has been a chart-topping hit, featured in multiple movies, including the blockbusters Slumdog Millionaire and Pineapple Express. It wasn’t until the release of this song that she became such a mainstream artist. Nonetheless, her unique and peculiar sound remains, with no plans to sell out to more gentrified rap and electronic music. Written and recorded in 2006, “Kala,” M.I.A.’s sophomore effort, is named after her mother. Created in stages throughout several continents across the world, in countries including Jamaica, India, Trinidad, Liberia, Japan, Australia, the UK, and the US. M.I.A. obviously utilized her surroundings in order to produce her undeniably unique “world electro fusion” sound. Featuring production by well-known producers Timbaland, Switch, and Blaqstarr, and Diplo, the songs feel like instant hits but nonetheless shine with exceptional complexity.

Filled with sampled sounds and beats, “Kala” oozes with eclectic and exotic rhythms, textures, and melodies. The tracks are a non-stop carnival to your ears, with fast-paced and highly catchy tunes at every stop of the way. It is a one-of-a-kind journey through clubs, war-grounds, and ghettos, highlighting an array of political topics and never halting in its ability to keep your feet tapping and your body shaking. With songs dealing with immigration politics to terrorism to personal relationships to festivity, the album brings out both celebratory and “rawer, darker, outsider” themes. In essence, it’s the perfect mix of expression, art, and fun, giving you the opportunity to take whatever you desire from it. Still, even if you do not agree with her often controversial political stances, it is difficult to put off any song completely. The words not always need to be listened to, sometimes the instrumental itself is enough to keep you hooked – at least, in my opinion.

The album combines assorted instrumentation, heavy textures, sampling, looping, and layering, while exploring traditional dance and folk styles such as soca, funk carioca, Baltimore bounce, urumee melam (in songs like “Boyz” for example). “Bird Flu” features the sound of traditional Indian tribal drumming, the chanting of little village girls, a contagious “how many” vocal sample, whistling, and even the clucking of chickens. With these particular sampled sounds and more all packed into one song, it is impossible not to agree that M.I.A. incorporates noises from everywhere in her music. “Mango Pickle Down River” pulses with didgeridoo, and includes a group of Australian Aboriginal kids, the Wilcannia Mob, rapping with her. “Paper Planes” samples The Clash's “Straight To Hell,” and samples a mix of sound including boisterous gunshots and the "ka-ching” of cash s. “Hussel,” taking on an incredibly serious, somewhat dark and ominous tone, combines extreme synthesizer sounds, with the tribal pummel of the rainforest, as M.I.A. and featured artist Afrikan Boy rap about the universal day-to-day struggle of living in poverty. “XR2,” ringing with a fast-paced horn sample, is an infiltrating, energetic club piece. Embodying the concept of multiculturalism to the fullest, and possibly epitomizing the unity of the vast range of foreign sounds that define M.I.A’s music, “World Town” shines with impeccable intensity, divulging many of her political thoughts with an exciting backing that hooks you from the very start.
While I have only described a few of the most exciting songs on the CD, these are just a little over half of the total track list; songs such as “20 Dollar” and “Bamboo Banga” are also very interesting and should not be forgotten.

Though her music may be invigorating and confrontational, its ability to produce such universal appeal is uncanny. With its enchanting beats and its catchy lyrics, “Kala” is undoubtedly M.I.A.’s best work yet. Incorporating a huge assortment of basic electronic sounds with new modern complexity, M.I.A.’s music moves beyond the basic sounds of the buchla or the moog synthesizer, Eric Satie’s revolutionized technique of looping, the sampling methods of Pierre Schaeffer’s Musique Concete, and the oscilating sounds of Herbert Eimert’s Elektronische Muzik; while undeniably electronic, her music fuses the instrumental with the digital, the tribal with the urban. M.I.A. has revolutionized electronic music with her unique sound, bringing a world or cultures together in the club, on the street, and even in the classroom. It is no surprise to me that the album has won so much critical acclaim, including being named the best album of 2007 by publications including Rolling Stone and Blender.