kala

M.I.A. doubled down on her adventurous world music with the explosive percussion and innovative samples of this primal and political pièce de résistance.  After the critical success of her debut 'Arular', British born  Sri Lankan Maya Arulpragasam planned to record her follow-up 'Kala' with American producer Timbaland; however, due to the incendiary lyrics of her first album, she was not allowed to enter the US.  She considers:  "When I was denied the visa, I ended up just couch-surfing, sleeping at other people’s houses. I couldn’t access any of my equipment or my demos – it was already over in America, with the rest of my life – so I had to start from scratch with what was around me. The thing is, I get bored easily, and I don’t see the point of doing something twice. I made 'Arular' in London; I’d already made a real London album. I just thought, fuck it. If I’m gonna couch-surf in London, I might as well go and couch surf in India or Liberia...And at the same time, I wanted to get out of people’s view: to go and spend time learning about myself and trying to be better. Not really technically better, but I just wanted to be better as a human being. And it’s really hard to do that when you make club music. There’s no such thing as a better human being in club music! It’s like, you either dance . . . or you get the fuck out! And I don’t want to be talking about ‘big titties’ and ‘fucking hos’. Dance music needs to be expanded, in terms of subject matter and substance, and that’s what I was trying to do...So when I started this album, I really thought, 'I don’t know why I’m doing this, I don’t know who I’m doing it for. I don’t know anything. I’m out of this relationship, Timbaland, that dream and hope, is not gonna happen, and I probably don’t even wanna make music.' I was exhausted, and then this album just came out from that weird place. I just didn’t care what anyone was going to think. And it just ended up being what it is because it came out from a time of just trying to survive, in music, as a woman...When I started making 'Arular', back in 2002-2004, there was just politics. Most people of our age, living in the West, were in the middle of the biggest saturated political moment of their lives. But now, well, we’ve seen where it goes. Everyone is out there talking about it. We’ve all watched Saddam Hussein being hanged on YouTube. What the hell have I got to add to that? Just trying to survive:  that’s what it’s about. I wanted to speak for everyday people, living their everyday lives."

While her first album was named after her father; this new album was named for her mother.  'Kala' was recorded in India, Jamaica, Australia, Liberia, and Trinidad with vocals by M.I.A.; featured vocals by Afrikan Boy, the Wilcannia Mob, Timbaland, and Rye Rye; and production by M.I.A., Switch, Diplo, Timbaland, Morganics, and Blaqstarr.  

'Kala' went to number one hundred and seventeen in France, ninety-three in Germany, forty-six in Australia, forty-four in the Netherlands, thirty-nine in the UK, twenty-three in Japan, twenty-two in Norway, eighteen in Sweden and the US, and number one on the US dance album chart.  The album was a huge critical success, making the top of end of the year reviews in several publications. She also saw a huge increase in her fan base.  She says:  "I was kind of surprised, actually. We keep doing these shows and people keep screaming and going mad. I don’t get it. I really don’t get it. I thought this album was much more raw than the first one, but the audiences are going crazy; dancing to it."






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"Paper Planes" samples the Clash's "Straight to Hell". It became an international smash hit after appearing in the film 'Pineapple Express', going to seventy-six in Germany, sixty-six in Australia, fifty-seven in the Netherlands, thirty-six on the US R&B chart, nineteen in the UK, eighteen in Belgium and Denmark, seven in Canada, four in the US, and number one on the US dance chart.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sei-eEjy4g









"Bamboo Banga" samples "Roadrunner" by Jonathan Richman and "Kaattukkuyilu" by Ilaiyaraaja from the 1991 Tamil film 'Thalapathi'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jU5riJNrQQ




"Bird Flu"  samples "Thirvizha Na Vantha" by R. P. Patnaik from the Tamil film 'Jayam'.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2po1t_m-i-a-bird-flu_music

M.I.A. - Bird flu by eatbiscuits



"Boyz" went to number three on the US dance chart. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBX3lo3Boxs




"Jimmy" samples "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" composed by Bappi Lahiri from the Bollywood film 'Disco Dancer'.  The single reached number sixty-six in the UK and number twenty-eight on the US dance chart.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBECisSkAu4&feature=fvwrel










'Kala' 

full album:





1. "Bamboo Banga"  
(M.I.A. Switch Jonathan Richman Ilaiyaraaja)
M.I.A. Switch  4:58
2. "Bird Flu"  
(M.I.A. Switch R. P. Patnaik)
M.I.A. Switch  3:24
3. "Boyz"  
(M.I.A. Switch)
M.I.A. Switch  3:27
4. "Jimmy"  
(M.I.A. Switch Bappi Lahiri)
M.I.A. Switch  3:29
5. "Hussel" (featuring Afrikan Boy)
(M.I.A. Switch Diplo)
M.I.A. Switch Diplo  4:25
6. "Mango Pickle Down River" (with The Wilcannia Mob)
(M.I.A. Keith Dutton Lendal King Colin Roy Johnson Walter Ebsworth Buddy Blair Morgan Lewis Brendan Adams Daniel Wright Will Jarrett)
M.I.A. Morganics 3:53
7. "20 Dollar"  
(M.I.A. Switch Charles Thompson)
Switch 4:34
8. "World Town"  
(M.I.A. Switch Blaqstarr)
M.I.A. Switch 3:52
9. "The Turn"  
(M.I.A. Blaqstarr)
M.I.A. Blaqstarr  3:52
10. "XR2"  
(M.I.A. Diplo Switch)
Diplo Switch 4:20
11. "Paper Planes"  
(M.I.A. Diplo Joe Strummer Mick Jones Paul Simonon Topper Headon)
Diplo Switch 3:24
12. "Come Around" (featuring Timbaland)
(Timothy Mosley Timothy Clayton M.I.A.)
Timbaland 3:53