- Purchase a product from the Music Store sold by Amazon.co.uk and receive £1 to use on any music download in our MP3 Store. Here's how (terms and conditions apply)
Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Review
Some musicians fret about the difficulties of writing a new album. Since 2007's hugely successful Kala, Maya Arulpragasam has designed clothing, set up her own label (N.E.E.T.), been in and out of the press for several reasons mostly unrelated to her latest material, and had her first child. Little has been said, relatively speaking, about Kala's follow-up, at least beyond the blogosphere. But here the artist known as M.I.A. has unleashed an album that's not difficult in the slightest, instead coming across as deliberately daunting. Do not sit back. Do not relax. M.I.A.'s airborne and she's landing near you, now.
Striding through metal, dancehall, space pop and dubstep, our multicultural mascot has littered /\/\/\Y/\–"Maya"–with politicised sonic motifs: from marching drums, gunshots and modems to heavy machinery and blaring sirens. It's loud, proud, and taking no prisoners.
Despite retaining the services of the world's most cutting-edge dance producers–Diplo, Switch, Blaqstarr and dubstep's aggressive young talent Rusko–M.I.A.'s magpie approach sees her cannibalise these producers' studio skills to build instead an edifice of terse sound that stands alone. As she raps herself: "Imitators? Stick it!"
Thematically /\/\/\Y/\ is consumed by the internet. Opener The Message sets the tone with laptop key percussion as a male voice foregrounds issues of data and institutional control with lyrics in nursery rhyme pastiche: "The hand-bone connects to the internet / connects to the Google / connects to the Government."
Wordplay is also rife on Story Told, as an Islamic prayer call morphs into the melody of childhood ditty Frère Jacques, explicitly juxtaposing naivety with the roar of fighter jets. It's a monster tune airing frustrations of censorship and governmental repression, on which Rusko plays ring master to a deployment of noises that more resemble sonic warfare than dubstep, sounds slithering around like vicious, scanning weapons. Another huge production is her thrashy digital mosher Born Free, bewitchingly accompanied with a nine-minute video depicting redheads being rounded up by armed forces and exterminated. It's a thinly veiled allegory highlighting the bloody period of conflict between the Tamil population of Sri Lanka and the Sinhalese majority, which M.I.A. has done much to highlight.
But there are lighter moments, where subtlety reigns. Teqkilla is an enjoyably demented but utterly catchy drinking song peppered with infectious choral nonsense. Equally, It Tales a Muscle is a slice of sunshine dancehall that could easily find itself aired at a Grammys ceremony (as Paper Planes was when it appeared on the soundtrack to Slumdog Millionaire). And then there's album closer Space, a spurt of astral dub-pop that eulogises isolation in an industry that increasingly impinges her personal freedom. The subtext is abundant, but the songs still stand up alone.
Akin to albums by the similarly avant-garde artist Björk, each track on /\/\/\Y/\, no matter how different, is unmistakably the work of M.I.A. The leap in her ability, to realise such a distinct vision, is complete. /\/\/\Y/\ is at points a terrifying achievement but, much like life in general, it has so much to offer an inquisitive and open mind–it simply depends whether or not you're bothered enough to scratch beyond the surface and dive in.
--Matthew Bennett
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Product Description
STANDARD EDITION : Feisty 2010 album! Digital ruckus 'n' political beats from the Sri Lankan anti-pop icon. Features collaborations with Diplo ; Rusko ; Switch and Sleigh Bells. Includes "Born Free" and "XXXO". (aka "/\/\ /\ Y /\").
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Help others by sharing your experience with this product.
Write a customer review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Her mixtapes were fantastic, ARULA was impeccable and KALA was a treat - MAYA on the otherhand seems a lil out of place. Think cosy Christams scene with the weirdo family member banished to the snowy outdoors, forced to watch the family through a fogged window.
"let me in, i'm awesome too!"
"don't u dare look at it! continue to eat your turkey - now!... Kala?! did you hear what i just SAID!?!"
Put simply, there's something missing on this here MAYA, it's as if the magic has been replaced with something much less inspiring, namely fear or even loss of passion. Hear me out...
ARULA was brimming with beautiful madness, with lyrics that collided with bass to create a truly stunning piece of art. Her political sway was never lost in the drums and her personality was never overshadowed by the expectations of the industry. She made her stance and marked her territory with refreshing defiance, she had arrived!
KALA was a triumph with energy levels and inspiration dripping all over robotic circuitry with ridiculously deep story lines and symbolism that simply left you open mouthed with their pitch perfect delivery. The album was fun. You heard it on BOYZ you heard it on HUSTLE and most definitely heard it on MANGO PICKLE. The album gave a nod to its predecessor, took the baton and ran, making waves as it did so.
now this brings us to MAYA... don't get me wrong, the album is good - but MIA is a whole other level above merely 'good'. The album packs a punch (but then again, so does my granny) but unlike my granny MAYAs impact seems to have been swallowed in self doubt and subsequently doesn't make as much of an impact as it should have or could have done. MIA has always been on the outskirts but when Paper Planes came out, suddenly the nay-sayers became fans and MIA was embraced into the inner circle of wide spread musical acceptance. *shudder*
To me, this is why MAYA opts for shin kicks instead of dropkicks and flesh wounds instead of a down-right massacre. MAYA appears to take everything MIA stands for and sprinkles a lil sugar on it to make it an eeny weeny bit more palatable to the new comers.
I like the album but i really did struggle to listen to it from start to finish. It is painful to listen to because it's as if MIA is holding back, and biting her tongue to save herself from offending the very industry that she once stuck two fingers to. Disappointed fans may say "don't be harsh, she's in control and is going in a new direction", this may be true but when you no longer recognise the person driving this 'new' direction, then we kinda have a /\/\ajor problem, don't we?
3 stars ***
"let me in, i'm awesome too!"
"don't u dare look at it! continue to eat your turkey - now!... Kala?! did you hear what i just SAID!?!"
Put simply, there's something missing on this here MAYA, it's as if the magic has been replaced with something much less inspiring, namely fear or even loss of passion. Hear me out...
ARULA was brimming with beautiful madness, with lyrics that collided with bass to create a truly stunning piece of art. Her political sway was never lost in the drums and her personality was never overshadowed by the expectations of the industry. She made her stance and marked her territory with refreshing defiance, she had arrived!
KALA was a triumph with energy levels and inspiration dripping all over robotic circuitry with ridiculously deep story lines and symbolism that simply left you open mouthed with their pitch perfect delivery. The album was fun. You heard it on BOYZ you heard it on HUSTLE and most definitely heard it on MANGO PICKLE. The album gave a nod to its predecessor, took the baton and ran, making waves as it did so.
now this brings us to MAYA... don't get me wrong, the album is good - but MIA is a whole other level above merely 'good'. The album packs a punch (but then again, so does my granny) but unlike my granny MAYAs impact seems to have been swallowed in self doubt and subsequently doesn't make as much of an impact as it should have or could have done. MIA has always been on the outskirts but when Paper Planes came out, suddenly the nay-sayers became fans and MIA was embraced into the inner circle of wide spread musical acceptance. *shudder*
To me, this is why MAYA opts for shin kicks instead of dropkicks and flesh wounds instead of a down-right massacre. MAYA appears to take everything MIA stands for and sprinkles a lil sugar on it to make it an eeny weeny bit more palatable to the new comers.
I like the album but i really did struggle to listen to it from start to finish. It is painful to listen to because it's as if MIA is holding back, and biting her tongue to save herself from offending the very industry that she once stuck two fingers to. Disappointed fans may say "don't be harsh, she's in control and is going in a new direction", this may be true but when you no longer recognise the person driving this 'new' direction, then we kinda have a /\/\ajor problem, don't we?
3 stars ***
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I've read a few articles recently criticising M.I.A. for contradictory and naive lyrics. Whether true or not, this doesn't spoil my enjoyment of /\/\/\Y/\ as I subscribe to the Simon Reynolds school of thought that pop music isn't poetry and that lyrics shouldn't be dissected too much. Does anyone think The Clash's debut album would have been better if Joe and Mick has sat around reading the Conservative party manifesto in detail instead of learning another chord and shouting "Repression!"? I deliberately draw the comparison with punk, as although /\/\/\Y/\ contains a couple of slices of pure pop in the catchy `XXXO' and `It Takes A Muscle', for the most part the album is abrasive and intense. `Born Free' samples Suicide and has an intro reminiscent of `Mr Self Destruct' by Nine Inch Nails. In fact there are a quite few industrial moments, Rusko producing 5 of the most atonal and bass heavy tracks, including `Steppin Up' which is sprinkled with the sounds of drills. So as should be expected from M.I.A. by now the album is a thrilling pick `n' mix of hip hop, dancehall, dubstep, dance and punk. Although I didn't expect to discover Maya is a fan of the brothers Gallagher - sample lyrics: "Standing at the station, in need of education" and "I would drink alcohol with the words to Wonderwall"!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I first listened to 'Maya', M.I.A.'s third LP, I was disappointed. Too much of it sounded deliberately difficult, atonal, discordant. It seemed like a willfully backward step after the excellent 'Kala'. The only immediate tracks are the wonderful, sleek, robotic pop of 'XXXO' and the blissful closer 'Space', and in a way I wish M.I.A.'d filled the album with more commercial music, because she's very good at it. A few weeks ago I'd've given this record three stars and left it at that.
I've played 'Maya' a lot recently, though, and it definitely repays repeated listening. Tunes have emerged from amid the industrial noises and bleeps and it's worked its charms on me. There are still a few tracks which pass by without making an impact, but 'Maya' is a worthy successor to 'Kala', very different, not quite as good, but not significantly inferior. I can't wait to hear what she does next.
I've played 'Maya' a lot recently, though, and it definitely repays repeated listening. Tunes have emerged from amid the industrial noises and bleeps and it's worked its charms on me. There are still a few tracks which pass by without making an impact, but 'Maya' is a worthy successor to 'Kala', very different, not quite as good, but not significantly inferior. I can't wait to hear what she does next.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Horrible, yet wonderful
If you happened to just listen to this album with no idea of who the artist was, chances are you'd hate this. Read more
Published 3 months ago by DDGH
best, most original songs from M.I.A so far!
I would give it a 4.5 if I could but I think I like some of these songs more than anything she's done before, even if I do love almost all her songs. I wish this album was perfect. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Janine R.
Will challenge your ears (in a good way!)
MAYA is simply the most intesting album I've heard this year. It is, at times, a difficult listen (lots of loud, distorted synths and drums) but this is regularly contrasted with... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr. A. J. Poole
A Tamed Tiger
'Maya' is Mathangi Arulpragasam's third album. 'Arular' (2005) and
'Kala' (2007) were both quite extraordinary recordings and heralded
the birth of an idiosyncratic and... Read more
'Kala' (2007) were both quite extraordinary recordings and heralded
the birth of an idiosyncratic and... Read more
Published 22 months ago by The Wolf
Rubadubadub
If an android ever decided to travel the world and make hip-hop music, the result might be something like M.I.A. Read more
Published 22 months ago by E. A Solinas
THE EXPERIMENTAL album of 2010! MIA delivers on many levels here in a...
Let's face it, over the past two years we have been bombarded with generic pop with the likes of Pussycat Dolls,Lady Gaga,Beyonce,JLS,Cheryl Cole and many X Factor 'goods' being... Read more
Published 22 months ago by S. J. Pinder
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
