Fresh from shocking the world with the guerrilla tactics in the promo video for ‘Born Free’ – recently banned by YouTube for its graphic images showing the violent prosecution of red-haired kids - M.I.A. unveils a more radio-friendly track tipped to be the first single off her third studio album. ‘XXXO’ was produced by hip-hop artist Blaqstarr. On first impressions the track could be described as the artist’s answer to Lady Gaga’s brand of dance pop; as immediately catchy, but granted with a more combative and challenging edge.
Crowned as the hottest record in the world at BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe show, where it had its world premiere last night, ‘XXXO’ looks set to take M.I.A.’s career to the next stage, after her breakthrough smash ‘Paper Planes’ turned her into a household name around the world.
While many are waiting with baited breath for the new M.I.A. album, the singer has released a video for a new track titled ‘There’s Space For All Dat I See’. The video has been setting many blogs talking, after it was posted on M.I.A.’s Twitter earlier today. The track hints M.I.A.’s third album will be a slightly more subdued affair than previous efforts, although she is reportedly set to continue work with previous collaborators Diplo & Switch.
After releasing the fantastic ‘Arular’, former Central St. Martins design student Maya Arulpragasam set herself the unenviable target of following up one of the most well received debuts of 2005. While many artists fall into path of radio friendly singles and a more commercial follow up, M.I.A stuck to her guns and crafted another bold, assured collection of songs. Aside from ‘Come Around’, which saw the singer collaborate with Timbaland, ‘Kala’ has no predictable overblown collaborations. The album was largely co-written by M.I.A and producer Switch – who had previously worked on ‘Arular’.
‘Kala’ was written whilst the singer travelled through several countries, something that can clearly be heard throughout. Whether it’s the Bollywood sampling ‘Jimmy’ or the South African rappers Wilcannia Mob lending their rhymes to ‘Mango Pickle Down River’, M.I.A’s backpacking jaunt obviously helped her overcome any second album nerves. The album also displays many influences that are closer to home, album opener ‘Bamboo Banga’ cheekily robs the melody of Jonathan Richman’s ‘Roadrunner’ and snippets of New Order, The Clash and Pixies can be heard across the album.
Combining a mélange of influences, Kala stands out as one of the defining albums of the decade; delivered by one of our most enigmatic and endearing female artists of our time.
Brazilian duo The Twelves first caught our attention in early ’08 when they released a string of killer remixes for the likes of Fever Ray, The Virgins and Black Kids. After winning plaudits from taste makers such as Annie Mac and Rob Da Bank, the band has recently signed to Eye Industries and racked up over 1.9 Million plays on their MySpace – no mean feat considering they’ve yet to release any of their own original material.
For a taste of some of their exclusive remixes and an insight into their record bags, follow this link to download their recent ‘The Twelfth Hour’ mix. Taking in everything from M.I.A., Radiohead and Jackson 5; ‘The Twelfth Hour’ mix is a great showcase for The Twelves high energy DJ sets which are propelled by strings of their own inventive and highly danceable edits.
The Twelves will play a handful of dates throughout December, including an appearance at the Laser Club night on the 11th at the Legion in Shoreditch, London. Those in the capitol on that date are strongly recommended to head down and see The Twelves – they may well be one of the acts to look out for in 2010.
