M.I.A.
Matangi

The fiery spirits of Maya from 2010 have calmed down and the decent collaboration with Madonna and Nicki Minaj for the Super Bowl-esque Give Me All Your Luvin' (complete with a middle finger performance during the sacred, no parental, and glamorous 2012 Halftime Show) has been filed away in the memory drawer. M.I.A. lightens part of her baggage of eclecticism, genuine extravagance, and artistic cacophony with the new Matangi, whose evident reference to the Hindu goddess of the same name suggests a serious change of course compared to the fiery industrial-rave atmospheres of Born Free. The Sri Lankan sprite returns to the beginnings of her career and fully revives the succulent exotic duo of Arular and Kala, works in which multiple electronic-experimental trips could not help but adhere to the Bhangra flavor, anti-radio hip-hop/urban, as well as subtropical sound explorations carried out with the aid of the synthetic machete and acid bongo.

The chapter of Matangi then attempts a determined compromise between the minimal Arular and the ethnic Kala without nonetheless neglecting the explosive grime-big beat mix of Maya. Supported in the hyperuranium/firmament/Parnassus Hindu by her dear deities, M.I.A. combines, merges, manipulates, impresses, extracts, and creates "disruption" with gentle sweetness and religious harmony, in a celestial whole that rallies the traditional avant-garde ally, super electronic and tribal-futuristic, but also some more "pop" battalion, vaguely radio-friendly and distinctly melodic-R&B, useful to reconcile the original loyal fans and new acolytes interested in the offering. Both will find a comprehensive menu, a gastronomic-musical greatest hits in the indelible sign of the Arular-Kala-Maya trio. 

The baptism of Matangi occurred more than a year before its official release, more precisely with Bad Girls, a tantalizing faux-gangsta hip-hop track, curiously well received by the commercial MTV circuit. The not-so-speedy wait for the subsequent Confirmation rewarded the most patient and tenacious by gifting them the very acidic Bhangra of Y.A.L.A. and a bizarre duo of almost identical tracks, Exodus and Sexodus, both presented with the talented The Weeknd and characterized by a mystical R&B-trip hop-ambient mood, not too distant from Paper Planes, aimed at partially breaking with the long tribal-friendly tail. Moreover, there are rumors on the net that Sexodus was unsuccessfully proposed by the Sri Lankan elf to Madonna for her latest MDNA in 2012.

Now let's get to the "ethnic" side. It starts with the title track Matangi, a tour de force of pure, virginal bhangra sounds, and continues with the experimental pastiche of Warriors, whose electronic-hip hop delirium is regularly interrupted by a tribal prayer in "cream" of strong percussion, and with the double face of Come Walk With Me, initially funky-rock'n'roll and then dragged into an ethnic big beat storm. It is also worth mentioning the reggae of Double Bubble Trouble (soon accelerated to the salsa-latin conclusion) and the garage hip-hop of Bring The Noize.

Matangi, or a Hindu-style missal prepared by the spiciest of anti-pop stars. In case the chill of our own litanies does not entice you, here is a small sequence of anthems to sing while dancing wildly at the union between nature and artifice.

M.I.A., Matangi

Karmageddon - Matangi - Only 1 U - Warriors - Come Walk With Me - aTENTion - Exodus - Bad Girls - Boom Skit - Double Bubble Trouble - Y.A.L.A. - Bring The Noize - Lights - Know It Ain't Right - Sexodus