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From across the pond in London, England, M.I.A. (a.k.a. Maya Arulpragasam) stormed onto the music scene with her breakout album, Arular. Combining her love of grime, dancehall, hip-hop and baile funk music with the passion of growing up in war-torn Sri Lanka, MIA was able to create an exciting, groundbreaking movement. Her much talkedabout mash-up collaboration with well-known Hollertronix DJ Diplo, Piracy Funds Terrorism Volume 1, also helped fuel the praise among critics, industry and fans alike.
So how did this whirlwind begin? While touring with and photographing Elastica during the promotion of their last album, M.I.A. was introduced to electro artist Peaches, who then turned the budding emcee on to the world of electronic music. Shortly after releasing Arular in 2005 amidst incredible buzz for her omnipresent single, "Galang," M.I.A. was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.
While her first single had dance clubs around the world booming, M.I.A.'s second single, "Sunshowers," went deeper, expressing her sadness at unnecessary prejudice and violence. The song told the story of a man being shot down for hanging out with Muslims. The universality of her music helped win her urban music fans and indie rock geek love all at once, and the press quickly named her the next big thing.
2005 continued to be a dizzy spin for M.I.A. as she had gigs opening for Gwen Stefani and LCD Soundsystem, performed at Coachella, Reading and Leeds Festival, and headlined tours in Europe and North America. M.I.A. is sure to defy expectations even more in 2006. —JM |
