Kala
Representin' The World Town
Maya Arulpragasam, the British-based daughter of Sri Lankan refugees,
delivered one of 2005s eye-popping debuts, Arular. For an album that
proudly flaunted tin-can production, indecipherable South London slang,
and lyrical nods to suicide bombers, it brought the woman who records
under the name M.I.A. unexpected mainstream success--she followed its
release by touring North America with Gwen Stefani and recording with
Missy Elliott and Timbaland, while the single Galang made its way into a
car commercial. Kala (the first release was named after her freedom-
fighting father, this one after her mother) throws Arulpragasams newfound
pop credentials into the bustle of Bollywood rhythms, police sirens, 8-bit
dancehall beats, Third World car horns, and street singers. Recorded
across several continents, it presents a far more dynamic listening
experience than her first album, especially with tracks like Bamboo Banga,
Jimmy, and Paper Planes. Its no less exhausting, though. What with the
New Order sample, Timbaland cameo, and gunshot sound effects, there
isnt a moment when it doesnt feel like youve unintentionally invited an
entire carnival into your home. --Aidin Vaziri

Personal Review: Kala
Before "The Pinepple Expess" made a success of "Paper Planes," Kala
had turned the curious ear of many music fans. Superficially, it presents
itself as a head-bobbing hip-hop album that could serve as the
cacophonous soundtrack to a jammed block party. However, peeling back
this immediate layer reveals socially conscious lyrics layered upon an
intricate tapestry of sound. "Kala" features recombined snippets of
Eastern folk music alongside old-school Afrikaa Bambataa-style proto-hip-
hop. The resulting beats and loops are sophisticated and chaotic, rather
like the work of Public Enemy at their creative height. The final product
hardly sounds like the components from which it is made, and its elaborate
arrangement masks its "loopy" structure. In my opinion, this is the way in
which sampling can be musical.
This aesthetic pervades "Kala." As an example, listen to "Jimmy," in which
bollywood-inflected strings co-exist with a disco feel to create...a 70's
ABBA track? Sound impossible? I also find the loop on "20 Dollar" to be
particularly clever. Although this isn't my favorite track, I appreciate the
way that the sub-bass creates the gestalt impression that the listener's
speakers are being overblown. The bass notes seem to suspend nearly all
else until it subsides. By suspending all other rhythmic activity, the bass
hits gain a power that cannot be attained by merely turning up the stereo.
I do not have much in my library to compare "Kala" to. Because its
message is so consistent, I am often reminded of Dr. Dre's breakout "The
Chronic." Of course, "Kala" sounds nothing like "The Chronic," but they
both have a unifying "vibe." I am also tempted to refer to Panjabi MC, but
this comparison is a little weak. Despite their similar cultural background
as displaced Indo-British, M.I.A.'s comparatively cheeky attitude,
undoubtedly stemming from her varied biography, makes her seem, well, a
little "gangsta" in comparison to Panjabi MC. She speaks with a voice that
sounds like it has had a wide array of life experiences, which lends it a
certain gravitas.
I am not referring merely to the physical sounds that M.I.A. produces with
her lungs and throat. I mean the significance and purpose of the sounds of
"Kala." M.I.A.'s sounds speak volumes. Most obviously, the now-famous
chorus to "Paper Planes" the sounds of gunshots and cash registers
clearly tell a story, and on "XR2," video game sounds take over the
expressive role of M.I.A.'s physical voice. These sounds reveal as much
about her fractalized musical identity as the words she uses or the
melodies she sings. Even when M.I.A. is not technically "singing" on
"Kala," you can hear her voice. This type of expression is slowly being
eroded away as the public repeatedly chooses the cultureless polish of
"American Idol" contestants over artists that really have something to say
about who they are and where they are coming from.

It has become cliché to say that the world is shrinking. Now that any kind
of music from anywhere is available any time, it might be more accurate to
say that the world has shrunk and the cultural flood gates are open. It has
been theorized that the increasing flow of cultural material across various
conduits would result in a "cultural grey-out," in which everything, no
matter in what part of the world it originated, would start to sound the
same. Thankfully, this has not happened. Instead, artists have "dug into"
their specific identity and began to simultaneously appropriate and resist
the musical materials that they were exposed to. "Kala" is a product of this
condition.
THE LOWDOWN: If you like smart hip-hop with a lot of flavor and deep
beats, "Kala" should be on your playlist from beginning to end. However,
M.I.A.'s lyrics and identity are also profound. Ten years ago, she might
have ended up in the "world music" bin. Now, she represents an entire
generation of people whose experiences hold more weight than the patch
of land that they call home.
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