XL Recordings

MIA has launched a fashion range of T-shirts, bodysuits and leggings inspired by her album covers.

MIA has launched a fashion range of T-shirts, bodysuits and leggings inspired by her album covers.

The degree to which critics and fans were transported by British-Sri Lankan rapper Maya “M.I.A.” Arulpragasm’s last album, Kala, seems directly proportional to how far she and producer Dave “Switch” Taylor traveled to record and produce it.

India, Australia, Jamaica, and Trinidad were just some of the stops on an equatorial tour that allowed M.I.A. and Taylor to capture open-air, off-the-street vocals, instrumentals, and serendipitous “noise” into Taylor’s mic’d MacBook Pro.

While still on the road, then later in his home studio, Taylor produced most of the songs for Kala entirely in Logic Pro, running Logic’s host plug-ins and virtual instruments on the same well-traveled laptop. “Pretty much everything on Kala was done within Logic,” says Taylor.

And judging by critical reception, pretty much everything was done right. Kala — Rolling Stone magazines 2007 Album of the Year — doesn’t so much rock our world as re-mix our sonic expectations of it, brightly fusing the sounds of Western house and third-world music even as M.I.A.’s playful but pointed lyrics explore some of the darker possibilities of cultural fusion.

“Sometimes it felt strange being in places where we were hardly getting electricity,” says M.I.A. “But Dave is so advanced on Logic that we were getting results that would take certain musicians a lot of time, money, and organization to achieve. Other producers would come to our makeshift ‘studio’ and be like ‘How did you do that?’ and all the time we were just pushing for everything we could get out of Logic — and bending...

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Fresh from the news that she has been nominated for Record Of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards, M.I.A. has revealed that she may not be there to pick up the gong, should she win it.

Photo by Kathryn Yu

M.I.A. is just bursting with anticipation for February 8. (Sorry, bad joke.) Sure, that's the night we'll find out if she wins that unlikely (but totally deserved!) Record of the Year Grammy, which is cool and everything. But that's not all that's slated to go down that day.

In a post on her MySpace blog titled "BABY + GRAMMY .......", the preggers superstar announced that that baby she's creating is due February 8, the very same day as the Grammys are handed out in a ceremony at L.A.'s Staples Center. "Either way I figured I'll win," she writes, "but OMG if I get it, I will never diss the Grammys ever again!" Sure, until Steely Dan's Spyro Gyra covers album sweeps the thing two years from now.

M.I.A. notes that she's "in the studio on the grind," and her story checks out; she's got that new Interscope imprint, N.E.E.T., which will issue the physical version of the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack (on which M.I.A. makes several appearances) December 23. She's also working on Rye Rye's debut album, which will also be released by N.E.E.T.

IS DUE THE SAME DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, so either way i figured ill win. but OMG if i get it, i will never diss the Grammys evr again! TO BE CONTINUED..............................................

Malawian-born, London-based singer Esau Mwamwaya teams with the European production team Radioclit for a hugely eclectic mixtape that veers from South Africa's marabi and kwaito music to Hans Zimmer scores to French and American hip-hop to Michael Jackson. While strong collaborations with M.I.A., Santogold, and Vampire Weekend include some surprising left turns, tracks that lean away from the familiar work even better. [Best New Music]

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Photo by Kathryn Yu

You can forget about the Pineapple Express trailer now. "O... Saya", M.I.A.'s previously reported collaboration with A.R. Rahman for the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack, has hit the blogs, and it's a fast-paced, suspenseful track that combines electro-distorted guitars, a massive percussion section, traditional-sounding vocals, and M.I.A.'s assertive versifying. "I hope I live till I'm 50," she declares-- probably good news for M.I.A. Jr., although Maya's mention of a sweat shop suggests the song might be done in character. (via The Playlist)

[from Slumdog Millionaire Music From the Motion Picture; out now digitally, and due physically 12/23/08 on N.E.E.T./Interscope]

From Stereogum

A.R. Rahman & M.I.A â€' 'O... Saya'
M.I.A's playground raps splash against Rahman's thunderous drumming on this excerpt from the soundtrack to Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire. No wonder the Tamils call the multi-million selling Indian composer 'Musical Storm'.

From East of LA

Mr Hudson â€' 'There Will Be Tears'
Hudson was signed to Kanye West's GOOD music imprint earlier this year and joined the newly-morose egotist for the European leg of his Glow In The Dark tour. Like his mentor his heartbroken R'n'B is tuned to the key of auto.

From The Docking Station
deadmau5 â€' 'Cocktail Queen'

Part of a collection of early rare recordings by Canadian producer deadmau5 and old running-buddy Melleefresh currently circulating the net. deadmau5 has started performing wearing a giant mouse mask with eye sockets fitted with strobe lights. Should make it much easier for punters to reach for them.

From Fluxblog

Wiley & Daniel Merriweather â€' 'Cash In My Pocket'
Mark Ronson-produced guaranteed pocket-filler from the Eskiboy's upcoming third 'overground' album, See Clear Now. If he's selling out then at least he's being open about it.

From You Ain't No Picasso

The Bicycles â€' 'Won't She Be Surprised'
You can't hate happy-clappy indie bands like Toronto's The Bicycles. It would be like hating nursery school teachers. Or Spot The Dog. Or sunshine. Come on everyone! Smile!

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