M.I.A.
Kala

If she didn't exist, she would need to be invented, as my grandmother would say; I'm talking about M.I.A (Maya Arulpragasam), the young Sri Lankan singer with a quirky and original look; it's she who is bringing so much, so much fresh air into my life (and the English scene), with a new hip hop (but obviously not only that); mixed; terribly slick, impossible to define but fortunately only unforgettable to listen to.

This is "Kala", the second chapter in the musical career of this Sri Lankan, now resident for many years in London. This is M.I.A., take it or leave it; she seems intent on pursuing her path entirely independently, never losing creativity in all 12 tracks of "Kala", and never giving in to the system.

"Kala" arrives almost three years after "Arular", a debut that had shaken many souls (including mine) with video game arcade beats, ruthless rap through English that was chewed up and spat out, and sounds of psychedelic trips; "Kala", on the other hand, is a more heterogeneous album that flows in a tormented and restless manner due to the very frequent changes of melody and genre, transitioning from the muffled, slightly dance hall sound with bass lines like rapid-fire bullets in "XR2", to "BirdFlu", where she samples chickens, Indian festivals, and hysterical children, composing a playful track with flowing, fast, and intimidating rap.

Kala grabs you; captures you; fascinates you; confuses you, and then with a final blow kills you, through a slower approach than in "Arular", probably helped by the total lack of metric, continuous upheavals, and musical changes, as in "Hussel"; with samplings of Bedouin choruses, Indian dance hall rhythms, drums, and Middle Eastern atmospheres, between Africa and India; or it transitions to a track like "20 Dollar", where New Order is sampled, but in reality, nothing of them remains, they are dismembered, the sound is distorted and oblique, the beats get into your brain, and the voice is mercilessly transformed through the vocoder, resulting in a track of multiple orgasms.

The objective of "Kala" seems to be to destabilize the listener, between politics, struggle, and control; in this, the two most successful weapons seem to be my favorite two tracks; "Paper Planes" and "Mango Pickle Down River". The first track "Paper Planes" is the slowest and most sung of M.I.A.'s entire career, featuring a more classic metric, a softer rap leading to a chorus where 3 expertly sampled gunshots sound clear and decisive, and from then on the sound fills every single note, in a song that seems like an anthem, a protest; on the contrary, the rapid-fire rap of "Mango Pickle Down River", refers back to the pure early 90s rap tradition, with 3 exceptional guests, 3 kids; Australians, if I'm not mistaken native Australians, who live on the street, and sing along with M.I.A. a beautiful, natural, extremely fresh and full track.

"Jimmy" sends you straight into Bollywood, among dances and choruses, funny and original; however, the track that seems the least innovative and genius is, coincidentally, "Come Around" a track featuring that impostor Timbaland, whom I'm sincerely tired of, and that's enough!!! "Bamboo Banga"; "Boyz" (beautiful); "The Turn", they perfectly fit into the atmosphere chosen by M.I.A. for this album, between tradition and musical renewal.

It must be said that M.I.A. is bringing a climate of musical novelty to England that few artists have managed to bring in recent years, and I warmly recommend her to you, join her, in her fun and never serious way of engaging in social activity.

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