M.I.A. Transforms Dance Hall Genre on Arular

Dance hall music can be defined as a mutated form of reggae. It combines the rhythmic chants of traditional reggae and fuses it with the hard-hitting danceable beats, hence the term dance hall. M.I.A. transforms the genre even more with her debut album, Arular.

The term M.I.A. is usually an abbreviation for the term "missing in action", but in this case, the popular acronym is a variation of the artist's name, Mathangi Arulpragasam.

Somewhere in her last name, you can get the title for this album. In any matter, her distinct voice of raspy silkiness serves as one of the most unique elements among many in her new album.

Raised in a time of civil war in her native Sri Lanka, M.I.A. has seen more than her share of violence. When her family moved to London to escape the madness of political unrest, she went on to receive an education. It wasn't until college that she explored her talent as a musician.

Thanks to the discovery of a drum machine, M.I.A. started to experiment with sounds and sold demos of her work. Now, her experimental beats and reggae hymns have placed her on the map alongside female dance hall divas like Lady Saw and Ivy Queen.

Even so, she progressively steps out of the typical box and provides a hybrid sound of electronica, funk, hip-hop and a whole avalanche of experimental sound that can be quite entertaining and overbearing at the same time.

There seems to be an ongoing theme throughout M.I.A.'s album. In many of the tracks, I feel as though I am in a 1980's video arcade that is filled with nothing but the game, Space Invaders.

Constant soundtrack sounds of this nostalgic game along with many others tend to infest this album with great uniqueness. Combined with bongo beats and hard-hitting synthesized rhythms, they provide a great background for many of the tracks and interludes.

Her first single, "Galang" contains slight tints of pinball-esque components, but they aren't as vivid as many of the others. Instead, the stomping bass line and rebellious Gregorian-like hollers are very danceable and chic to listen to.

In the percussive "Bucky Don Gun", more epileptic drum machines are fused together with a horn section to produce a modernized nostalgic breakdance beat. All of them maintain energy and a great amount of vibrancy.

With many dance hall songs, it is hard to decipher the lyrics of the song unless you are an expert on this style of music. Apparently, M.I.A. is known for having politically driven lyrics.

My guess is that this is the result from her trials with her exposure to political difficulties and war in her native Sri Lanka. In her track, "Pull Out the People", I have a hunch that she is trying to get some sort of political message across. I may be totally wrong, but it's quite hard to actually make sense of the beat-laden lyrics.

I am sure that the lyrics aren't supposed to be the sole elements of this album. There is too much going on behind the lyrics that it's hard to concentrate on them. That may be one of the drawbacks. There seems to be a plethora of sound effects colliding all at once and sometimes, it gets repetitive and annoying.

Her hollering and similar beats may get a little too explosive and it may be quite exhausting-even if you're not dancing. The only track that I managed to relax to was the exotic "Amazon". Besides that, the album is good, but too much of it may cause you to go insane. I recommend taking on "Arular" in small doses. By doing so, you appreciate it more.

If the futuristic sounds of the Neptunes and the fun-loving progressiveness of producer/rapper Timbaland were to have a musical offspring raised by Mr. Vegas and Beanie Man, it would go by the name of M.I.A. Her sound is unique. Her back-story is endearing. Her style is so unmatchable that you cannot make a concrete decision on what genre she fits into.

Still, I don't think that her music will reach far beyond a cult fan base of dance hall appreciators. Arular is definitely a party or club album, but to sit down and just listen to it for leisure isn't something that I would suggest. Even so, dance hall isn't something that should solely be listened to-it should actually be danced to-hence the name.