Matangi [LP]

by M.I.A.

Overview

Names are important to Maya Arulpragasam. She named her first two albums after her father and mother, /\/\/\Y/\ after herself, and Matangi after an emerald-green Tantric goddess as well as a riff on her birth name, Mathangi. Picking up where /\/\/\Y/\'s challenging electronics and distrust of the information age left off, M.I.A.'s fourth album is top-loaded with some of its most aggressive tracks, including the title track's global litany. She makes listeners wait for her still-formidable skills with hooks and melodies, displaying them most stunningly on "Bad Girls," a sinewy, menacing track whose origins date back to 2007 sessions with Danja. Throughout the album, Arulpragasam proves she's as adept as ever at blending different sounds and cultures into a mix that is unmistakably hers, alluding to Shampoo's bratty Brit-pop single "Trouble" at one moment and proclaiming herself the female Slick Rick at another. Indeed, the songs inspired by rap and R&B are among the highlights, such as her karmic questioning of Drake's ubiquitous motto on "Y.A.L.A." or the sultry, surprisingly straightforward ballad "Know It Ain't Right." "Exodus," a collaboration with the Weeknd, finds a mostly successful middle ground between her outbursts and his chilly R&B dirges. Other standouts include the fizzy, hypnotic "Lights" and "Boom Skit," which harks back to Arular's brazen exuberance. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	11/25/2013
Label:	Interscope / Virgin Emi
UPC:	0602537603220
Rank:	28369

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Karmageddon
2. Matangi
3. Only 1 U
4. Warriors
5. Come Walk With Me
6. aTENTion
7. Exodus

Disc 2

8. Boom Skit
9. Double Bubble Trouble
10. Y.A.L.A.
11. Bring the Noize
12. Lights
13. Know It Ain't Right
14. Sexodus

Album Credits

Performance Credits

M.I.A.   Primary Artist,Vocals
The Weeknd   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Maya Arulpragasam   Composer,Art Direction,Creative Director
M.I.A.   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Nate Hills   Composer
Neil Comber   Engineer
Surkin   Mixing,Producer,Additional Production
M. McKinney   Composer
Geoff Pesche   Mastering
Jean-Baptiste de Laubier   Composer
Switch   Composer,Mixing,Producer,Vocal Producer
Mazen Murad   Mastering
Martin McKinney   Composer
The Partysquad   Mixing,Producer
Martin "Doc" McKinney   Composer
Hit-Boy   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Schlachthofbronx   Vocal Engineer
Benoit Heitz   Composer
Dave Taylor   Composer
Sugu Arulpragasam   Composer
Marcella Araica   Mixing,Composer,Engineer
David Taylor   Composer
Thomas Cullison   Assistant
So Japan   Additional Production
Daniel Sannwald   Photography
The Weeknd   Composer,Sample Source
Hugues Rey   Composer
Suegue   Producer,Programming
Chauncey Hollis   Composer
Carlo "Illangelo" Montagnese   Composer
Haze Banga   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Abel Tesfaye   Composer
Doc McKinney   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Vocal Engineer
Kyle Edwards   Composer
Hugyes Rey   Composer
Jean-Marie Horval   Mixing,Engineer
Kyle "Micky Park" Edwards   Composer
Ralf Flores   Engineer
Rosalee Pfeffer   Composer
Tom Manaton   Art Direction,Creative Director