Arular

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Arular
Arular cover
Studio album by M.I.A.
Released March 22, 2005 (2005-03-22)
(See release history)
Recorded Mid 2003 – 2004
Genre Dancehall, Hip Hop, Electronic, Alternative, Electroclash, Jungle, Indie
Length 38:06 (U.S. release)
41:54 (UK release)
Label XL Recordings
Producer Maya Arulpragasam, A. Brucker, Paschal Byrne, Diplo, KW Griff, Steve Mackey, Ross Orton, Anthony Whiting, Richard X
Professional reviews
M.I.A. chronology
Piracy Funds Terrorism, Volume 1
(2004)		 Arular
(2005)		 Kala
(2007)

Arular is the debut album by UK artist M.I.A. The album is titled after her father's political code name used during the Tamil independence movements. Originally set for a September 2004 release, the album faced months of delays due to sample issues.[1] Arular was finally released on March 22, 2005 on XL Records in America to universal critical acclaim. Almost a month later, Arular was released in the UK with a new track and a replaced skit.

The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2005. The album has sold more than 129,000 copies in the US,[2] and many more worldwide to date. It was named one of the best albums of the year by several publications at the end of 2005 (see 2005 in music).

Contents

[edit] Production

[edit] Background

Arular was recorded from mid 2003 to 2004, and was released in March 2005 on XL Recordings (see 2005 in music). Dealing with themes including urban strife, sex, war, and poverty, the album musically covered a plethora of genres, featuring an experimental blend of hiphop and chunky electro with raw tribal overtones, echoes of video game-style beeps and machine gunfire, in addition to edges of punk rock, dancehall and electroclash.[3] Arulpragasam, who wrote, co-produced and played most of the album herself, also made the exercise collaborative, wanting to get a “diverse mixture - dragging people out of their boxes musically.”[3] She described the use of the Roland MC-505, inspired by electroclash artist Peaches, giving her a more “hands-on, real and organic approach.”[4] She says working on the 505 had a “real sense of bravery…putting the emphasis on the artist” explaining “I thought if I started with something as minimal as that, I could work on myself.”[4]

Acts such as Public Enemy and The Clash would form just some of her lyrical influences. M.I.A., in an interview with Nirali magazine in 2004, prior to the album's release said "Nobody wants to be dancing to political songs. I wanted to see if I could write songs about something important and make it sound like nothing. And it kind of worked."[5] Elements of world music, including the use of multilingual vocals as well as tonal shifts and instrumentation, she explained, were inspired from soundtracks of Tamil film music she grew up listening to.[4] In addition to hiphop and dancehall, she also listened to Favella funk, describing the sound as “so exciting and full of energy.” She recalls, “It’s such a big sound that’s angry but kind of sexy at the same time. It uses Miami Bass as its essence. That seems exciting.”[3]

[edit] Recording

Audio samples of Arular
  • "Galang"
    "Galang," the first single from Arular, was originally released in 2003.
  • Problems playing the files? See media help.

Initially, Arulpragasam's intentions were to become just a composer/producer.[6] After making her demos, she recalled "scouting Caribbean girls in clubs, trying to get them to sing [her] songs...But they would say 'We can't do what you're doing.'"[6] She admitted being open to guest vocals on the album at first but in the end she says "I didn't want to put it in anyone's face. I just quietly got on with it....I didn’t wanna convince anyone it was good. I felt it was much better to prove that I could be an individual."[7]

Arulpragasam began every song and her skits, creating the lyrics, melody and beats, on the 505 sequencing drum machine.[4] Using a “lawless, trial and error”[8] philosophy gave her the freedom to go where she wanted, before she sought to collaborate with a producer whose music had caught her ear.[4] Borrowing studio time, she said of her decision to collaborate “I wanted to spend time here, there and everywhere, getting diversity like indie musicians making dancehall on my album.”[3] Working with Richard X on tracks such as “Hombre” and “Amazon”, she revealed how by building layers of vocals and instruments, they’d make room for any number of additional inputs of sounds. “We’d use my earrings, my mobile, my pen – whatever made a sound, we used it.”[4] Contrastingly, “Galang”, which she began producing on her 505 was worked on with Steve Mackey and Ross Orton (Cavemen), who added a bass line and vocals to give it “a more analog sound” than what was possible with the 505.[4] Co-writing “Galang” with Justine Frischmann, she said “Justine is quite experimental with her themes, so her input was refreshing”[3] and working with Diplo on the track “Bucky Done Gun” and the mixtape Piracy Funds Terrorism allowed for exploration of a shared “musical homelessness” between them. The song "Pull Up the People" involved production by A. Brucker (a.k.a. Switch). The album was later licensed to Interscope Records in the U.S..

[edit] Release

The 2003 white label release of "Galang" and the release of the song and Arulpragasam's next single "Sunshowers" on XL Recordings in 2004 preceded the release of Arular, which was eventually released on XL in March 2005. The album was delayed over several months due to sample issues. However, several M.I.A. songs, such as "Galang", "Sunshowers," and "Fire Fire," as well as a seven-track hard copy promo of Arular, were already circulating widely on the Internet on blogs and websites in 2004.[1] The mash up mixtape of Arular tracks - Piracy Funds Terrorism - was also made available in December 2004. Arular's content and themes, artwork and lyrics referencing the Tamil rebellion sparked commentary and noted Internet debates, increasing anticipation for her debut album.[9] Despite uploading her songs and artwork onto her official website and Myspace account from early through mid 2004, M.I.A. admitted in late 2005 in an interview that she had little comprehension of her prior popularity with music bloggers.[10] Asked on how she maintained contact with her Internet fan base initially, Arulpragasam explained, "I didn’t even have a computer. But now everything’s happening to me and I can afford one. I was really ignorant to the whole thing...The Internet people loved the fact that I was into so much different shit...People were like ... 'It’s great it’s not marketed. It’s great she fucks up and puts her music out before she releases it and people are downloading it.'"[10] The original US release on XL omits the track "U.R.A.Q.T", which features Quincy Jones' theme song from Sanford and Son. The US XL–Vinyl issue and the later reissue on Interscope Records return "U.R.A.Q.T" to the track listing. She performed several songs from the album on her 2005 tour supporting the release at music festivals and other venues worldwide.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] XL U.S. release

  1. "Banana Skit" (Maya Arulpragasam) – 0:36
  2. "Pull Up the People" (M. Arulpragasam, A. Brucker, Paschal Byrne) – 3:45
  3. "Bucky Done Gun" (M. Arulpragasam, Carol Conners, Bill Conti, Wesley Pentz, Ayn Robbins) – 3:46
  4. "Fire Fire" (M. Arulpragasam, Anthony Whiting) – 3:28
  5. "Freedom Skit" (M. Arulpragasam) – 0:42
  6. "Amazon" (M. Arulpragasam, Richard X) – 4:16
  7. "Bingo" (M. Arulpragasam, Whiting) – 3:12
  8. "Hombre" (M. Arulpragasam, Dwayne Wilson) – 4:02
  9. "One for the Head Skit" (M. Arulpragasam) – 0:29
  10. "20 Dollar" (M. Arulpragasam, Richard X) – 4:03
  11. "Sunshowers" (M. Arulpragasam, Stony Browder Jr., August Darnell, Steve Mackey and Ross Orton) – 3:16
  12. "Galang" (M. Arulpragasam, Justine Frischmann, Mackey, Orton) – 3:35
  13. "M.I.A." (M. Arulpragasam, Frischmann, Sugu Arulpragasam) – 3:27

[edit] UK / International / Interscope U.S. release

  1. "Banana Skit" (M. Arulpragasam) – 0:36
  2. "Pull Up the People" (M. Arulpragasam, Brucker, Byrne) – 3:45
  3. "Bucky Done Gun" (M. Arulpragasam, Conners, Conti, Pentz, Robbins) – 3:47
    • Samples: "Gonna Fly Now" by Bill Conti, inspired by "Injeção" by Deise Tigrona
  4. "Sunshowers" (M. Arulpragasam, Browder Jr., Darnell, Mackey, Orton) – 3:15
    • Samples: Chorus of "Sunshower" by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band
  5. "Fire Fire" (M. Arulpragasam, Whiting) – 3:28
  6. "Dash The Curry Skit" (M. Arulpragasam) – 0:40
  7. "Amazon" (M. Arulpragasam, Richard X) – 4:16
  8. "Bingo" (M. Arulpragasam, Whiting) – 3:12
  9. "Hombre" (M. Arulpragasam, Wilson) – 4:02
  10. "One for the Head Skit" (M. Arulpragasam) – 0:29
  11. "10 Dollar" (M. Arulpragasam, Richard X) – 4:01
  12. "U.R.A.Q.T" (M. Arulpragasam, Quincy Jones) – 2:56 1
    • Samples: "The Streetbeater (Theme from Sanford & Son)" by Quincy Jones
  13. "Galang" (M. Arulpragasam, Frischmann, Mackey, Orton) – 3:35
  14. "M.I.A." (M. Arulpragasam, Frischmann, S. Arulpragasam) – 3:27

1Alternate unsampled version is listed as Track 14 on the advance XL US Release with a length of 3:26

[edit] Singles

  • The first single, "Galang", was originally released on M.I.A.'s former label, Showbiz Records, in late 2003 and featured instrumental and a cappella versions of the title track. It was later re-released on Arulpragasam's current label, XL Recordings, on November 1, 2004 and included remixes by Cavemen and South Rakkas. The song was re-released again in 2005, under the title "Galang '05," and included a remix done by Serj Tankian.[7] The music video was directed by Ruben Fleischer. The single was re-issued on iTunes again in 2006 with Serj Tankian's remix.
  • The second single, "Sunshowers", was M.I.A.'s first release on XL Recordings. It was released as a single on July 5, 2004. It contained the b-side "Fire, Fire", as well as instrumental and a cappella versions of the title track. The music video was directed by Rajesh Touchriver.
  • The third single, "Bucky Done Gun" was released on July 11, 2005. It contained remixes by D'Explicit, DJ Marlboro, ¥£$ Productions and DaVinChe, as well as instrumental and a cappella versions of the title track. The music video was directed by Anthony Mandler.
  • By November 2004, many M.I.A. tracks and remixes of them were available for download on the internet, and exchanged through file-sharing, including the released singles "Galang" and "Sunshowers" destined for appearances on Arular.[7] In early 2005, after the release of Arular, an extensive collection of fan-made remixes of Arulpragasam's work was uploaded, expanded and made availaible as an online mixtape on XL recording's official website, titled Online Piracy Funds Terrorism.[7] The song "U.R.A.Q.T." was also planned for a single release in September 2005. According to a press release by XL in July 2005, the single was to feature remixes of the song by Roll Deep, Plasticman and Hot Chip as well as a reggaeton mix by La Fabrica.[11] It was released as a U.K. promo, and these mixes are available online.
  • Many Arular tracks were also released as limited edition vinyl singles, although the release dates and track listing details are hazy at best. These include "Hombre", "Pull Up the People", "Bucky Done Gun" and "10 $".

[edit] Outtakes

  • A few tracks were written and recorded for Arular but did not make the final cut, leaked onto the internet prior to the album's release, or were made available later to buy digitally through various online music stores. The tracks "Macho" (formerly known to fans as "Untitled"), "U.R.A.Q.T" and "You're Good" were on a rare, seven-track hard-copy promo of Arular which had been "floating around". More information on the promo and its full track listing has not been revealed, however after Piracy Funds Terrorism was released to the general public, "U.R.A.Q.T" was reworked and placed on the UK/International issue of Arular.
  • The tracks "Do Ya", "Lady Killa" and a longer, reworked version of "You're Good" were made available for download on various online music stores. "You're Good" was added as a bonus track to the iTunes Music Store's release of Arular, "Do Ya" to Karma Download's release and "Lady Killa" to the OD2 Network's release.
  • The track "M.I.A." on the Arular release is the remixed and finalized version of "Pop" from Piracy Funds Terrorism, the first song Arulpragasam composed.

[edit] Song usage in other media

  • The song "Fire Fire" was used in an episode from season 3 on The O.C..
  • The songs "10 Dollar" and "Galang" were used in episodes on the TV show Entourage in season 2.
  • The song "Galang" was featured in an ad for the Honda civic.
  • The song "Bucky Done Gun" was featured in the soundtrack of the videogame NBA Live 06, renamed as "Bucky Done."
  • The song "Fire Fire" was featured in the soundtrack of the video game Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition.
  • The song "10 Dollar" was featured in the soundtrack of the film War.

[edit] Critical reception

Arular was released to widespread critical acclaim, scoring 88 on MetaCritic.[12] Stylus Magazine said of Arular "It's a swaggering, spitting, utterly contemporary album from politically dissident M.I.A....It's special. We've not heard its like before."[1] Rolling Stone found Arular "Weird, playful, unclassifiable, sexy, brilliantly addictive."[13] Billboard said "All the elements are deftly held together by the MC/songstress' ability to make each track her own."[12] In its review, Popmatters said "In the end, what's most impressive is how Arulpragasam powerfully weaves a consistent theme of rootlessness throughout the record, drawing on her experiences in both the third world and modern London, from civil war to Western urban culture, and her own, highly unique, bastardized form of pop music is the extraordinary end result." Sasha Frere-Jones, writing in the New Yorker, noted that "what makes this genuine world music, aside from the references, is the weaving of the political into the fabric of what are still, basically, dance tunes. Any division of life into personal and political halves is absent."[14] It eventually became, in December 2005, the second most featured album in music critics’ Year-End Top 10 lists for 2005, reaching high positions of their lists in several publications worldwide.[15] It was named number 1 album of the year in 2005 by publications including Blender Magazine, Stylus Magazine, Musikbyrån, Rock de Lux, Eye Weekly and influential music website I Love Music.[15] Amazon.com named it their number 2 album of the year. Pitchfork Media named Arular the number 4 best album of 2005, and it was placed number two on The Village Voice's 33rd annual Pazz & Jop poll for the Best Album of 2005.[16] Among its all-time accolades, Arular was positioned 6th on GQ Magazine’s list of the "100 Coolest Albums Ever Released"[17] and was featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[15]

[edit] Personnel

  • Maya Arulpragasam - main performer, artwork, producer
  • A. Brucker - producer on "Pull Up The People", final mix and additional production on "Bucky Done Gun" and "U.R.A.Q.T"
  • Paschal Byrne - producer on "Pull Up The People", final mix and additional production on "Bucky Done Gun" and "U.R.A.Q.T"
  • Diplo - producer on "Bucky Done Gun", "U.R.A.Q.T" and "M.I.A."
  • KW Griff - producer on "U.R.A.Q.T"
  • Pete Hofmann - engineer and mixing on "Amazon" and "10 Dollar"
  • Steve Loveridge - artwork design
  • Steve Mackey - producer on "Sunshowers" and "Galang"
  • Ross Orton - producer on "Sunshowers" and "Galang"
  • Nesreen Shah - chorus vocals on "Sunshowers"
  • Anthony Whiting - producer on "Fire Fire" and "Bingo"
  • Dwayne "Willy" Wilson III - producer on "Hombre"
  • Wizard - programming, mixing and additional production on "Bucky Done Gun"
  • Richard X - producer on "Amazon" and "10 Dollar"

[edit] Release history

Region Date
United States March 22, 2005
United Kingdom April 18, 2005
World April 25, 2005

[edit] Charts

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Norwegian Albums Chart[18] 20
Swedish Albums Chart[19] 47
Japanese Albums Chart[20] 78
U.K. Indie Albums Chart[21] 9
U.K. Albums Chart[22] 98
U.S. Billboard 200[23] 190
U.S. Billboard Top Electronic Albums[23] 3
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers[23] 14
U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums[23] 16

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c M.I.A. - Arular - Review - Stylus Magazine. Stylus Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  2. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2007). "M.I.A. Dropping Second Album In August". Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
  3. ^ a b c d e Pearson, Gemma (2004). “M.I.A.". Fused Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Moayeri, Lily. “And Interview with Maya Arul a.k.a. M.I.A. – Arul on recording Arular “. Remixmag. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
  5. ^ Mangla, Ismat (4 October 2004). Not-So Missing in Action. Nirali Magazine. Retrieved on 24 May 2008.
  6. ^ a b M.I.A. :Rolling Stone - Guerilla Goddess. Rolling Stone (2005-12-15). Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  7. ^ a b c d M.I.A. - Interview - Stylus Magazine. Stylus Magazine (2005-11-07). Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
  8. ^ M.I.A. Radio Interview (audio). KEXP.org (11 May 2005). Retrieved on 24 May 2007.
  9. ^ Empire, Kitty (2005-12-18). "Pop Review of the Year 2005". Guardian Arts. Retrieved on 2008-03-21.
  10. ^ a b Robert Epstein, Daniel (29 December 2005). Interview: M.I.A.. Suicidegirls.com. Retrieved on 04 January 2008.
  11. ^ MIA to release 'U.R.A.Q.T.'. July 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2008
  12. ^ a b Metacritic (31 December 2005). M.I.A.: Arular (2005): Reviews. Metacritic Database. Retrieved on 23 December 2007.
  13. ^ Arular : M.I.A. : Review : Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  14. ^ Frere Jones, Sasha (22 November 2004). Bingo in Swansea: Maya Arulpragsam’s world. The New Yorker. Retrieved on 24 May 2008.
  15. ^ a b c Acclaimed Music.net: Acclaimed Music - Arular. Acclaimed Music.net. 31 December 2005. Retrieved 24 February 2007.
  16. ^ The Village Voice (31 December 2005). The 33rd Annual Village Voice pazz&jop critics’ poll. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 21 December 2007.
  17. ^ GQ Magazine: British GQ Magazine’s 100 Coolest Albums. GQ Magazine. August 2005. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
  18. ^ "M.I.A. - Arular". VG Nett. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
  19. ^ “M.I.A. – Arular”. SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
  20. ^ "アルラー - Ｍ．Ｉ．Ａ． ／ オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」". Oricon. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
  21. ^ The Charts: Music. The Independent. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  22. ^ UK Album Chart Positions. Chart Log UK. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  23. ^ a b c d "M.I.A. – Arular". All Music Guide. Retrieved 15 May 2007.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
M.I.A.
Studio albums
Arular (2005)  · Kala (2007)
EPs
Sustainable Development EP  · Live Sessions  · Boyz EP  · Paper Planes - Homeland Security Remixes EP
Other albums
Singles
"Galang"  · "Sunshowers"  · "Bucky Done Gun"  · "Boyz"  · "Jimmy"  · "Paper Planes"
Other songs
Tours
Related articles
Languages