Monday 26 November 2012

Currently Listening to: M.I.A


M.I.A., is an English artist, and songwriter. The moniker "M.I.A." is both a play on her own name and a reference to the abbreviation for Missing in Action. Her music combine elements of electronicdancealternativehip hop and world music. M.I.A. began her career in 2000 as a visual artist, filmmaker and designer in West London before beginning her recording career in 2002. Since rising to prominence in early 2004 for her singles "Sunshowers" and "Galang", she has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Grammy Awards and the Mercury Prize






In 2008, M.I.A. started her independent record label N.E.E.T. N.E.E.T. recordings (is anacronym for "Not in Education, Employment or Training").The first artist signed to the label was Baltimore rapper Rye Rye, who had previously performed with M.I.A, while A. R. Rahman's Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack was the label's first official release. Seeking to expose new, underground music, M.I.A. signed Baltimore musician Blaqstarr, indie rock band Sleigh Bells and visual artist Jaime Martinez in 2009. 




M.I.A. officially signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation management in May 2012. She joins Ester DeanMeek MillMelanie FionaRihannaSantigoldShakiraWale and others. She also guested during Jay-Z's set at the Radio 1 Festival in Hackney on 23 June 2012.
In October of 2012 M.I.A. released an autobiographical book titled "M.I.A." documenting "the five years of M.I.A. art that spans across three LPs: Arular, Kala, and Maya." [117] The book contains artwork as well as a forward by friend Steve Loveridge and various essays by M.I.A.



outside of her musical career M.I.A. is a philanthropist and humanitarian. In 2009, People wanted to place her on their annual list of the world's most beautiful people but she was the first person in the magazine's history to decline, stating "Mother Teresa was never on the list." In 2001, she received an Alternative Turner Prize nomination for her visual art. She is the only artist in history to be nominated for an Academy Award, Grammy Award, Brit Award, Mercury Prize and Alternative Turner Prize, and the first artist of Asian descent to be nominated for an Academy and Grammy Award in the same year. In both 2005 and 2008, M.I.A. was artist of the year by Spin and URB and M.I.A. is named as one of the defining artists of the 2000s decade by Rolling Stone in its "Best of the Decade" list in December 2009. Esquire magazine ranked M.I.A. on its list of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century in January 2010 and also in January 2010 Time magazine named her one of the world's 100 most influential people.


Albums

M.I.A has released 3 full length album but also produced EP's and remix cd's. Her latest EP features her last single 'bad girls' which will be on the new album Mantangi due for release in 2013.

Arular (2005)

Kala (2007)

Maya  (2010)


The M.I.A book (released Nov 2012)

a documentation of her entire visual output and a telling of her story in collages, photos, and prints from her early years in art school at Central Saint Martins London through to her hugely successful three albums, mixtapes, and live performances at PS1 MoMA, Coachella, various exhibitions, installations, and music video shoots. The artwork is comprised of a wide variety of materials and media: video stills turned to stencils pieced back together to make animated installations; spray-painted canvasses scanned then made into digital collages; photographs videotaped, then run through bad computer connections to create graphic prints; artwork on nails, walls, prints for T-shirts, handmade stage costumes—anything she could find while she was touring. Also included are assorted lyrics and portions of an exclusive interview in which she discusses candidly the personal events and themes which informed her art and music at the time of each campaign. Includes foreword by Steve Loveridge, friend since her art school days and frequent creative collaborator with M.I.A.


Videos:

Bad Girls

Born Free

Galang

Paper Planes

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