Arular

Release type:What's this?
studio album
First released:
Mar 22 2005

Overview Edit

Arular is the 2005 debut album by British musician M.I.A. Originally set for a September 2004 release, the album was delayed due to problems obtaining permission to use samples. Arular was finally released in the US on 22 March 2005 and a month later in the UK, where it had a slightly different track listing. The album's release was preceded in 2004 by two singles and a mixtape.

M.I.A. wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album and created the basic backing tracks using a Roland MC-505 sequencer/drum machine given to her by long-time friend Justine Frischmann. Collaborators included Switch, Diplo, and Richard X. The album's title is the political code name used by her father, Arul Pragasam, during his involvement with Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups, and themes of conflict and revolution feature heavily in the lyrics and artwork. Musically, the album incorporates styles that range from hip hop and electroclash to funk carioca and punk rock.

Arular was hailed by critics for its blending of styles and integration of political lyrics into dance tunes. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2005 and was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Although it only reached number 98 on the UK Albums Chart and number 190 on the US Billboard 200, several publications named it as one of the best albums of the year. By mid-2007, the album had sold 129,000 copies in the US. Arular spawned the singles "Sunshowers", "Bucky Done Gun" and "Galang", which was released twice.

The Overview appearing in this section is attributed to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arular. Portions of this Overview may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, version 3.0 or any later version, available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Additional terms may apply. See Wikipedia Terms of Use for details.

This particular version Edit

Record label:
Catalog number:
XLCD 186
Release dates:
  • May 17 2005

Genres

Electronica, Indie. Vote on Genres

What do Amazon.com customers think?

5 stars Three Stages of Acceptance
When I first heard of M.I.A. through word of mouth and anticipating articles, I sort of formed this opinion of this interesting, yet ultimately disappointing electronic outfit.

I listened to the single, "Galang" and was very put off.

So...don't ask me why I decided to buy Arular when I found it had placed #2 on my store's top 10 dance albums. *Something* compelled me. So as I took it home and listened to it, I found I was seriously not in the mood for it. I wanted something melodic, and this a…
Written by Benjamin Norman "Trance Pants"
3 stars The Real Story behind M.I.A.
First of all I'm a Sinhalese from Sri Lanka...

I told you guys this.... because there'll be some people saying this is a biased and a resist view..To hell with it.. I don't care.......This is specially for all the Sri Lankans... to get an idea about M.I.A. and her music...

I read in a review saying PLO is not a terrorist organisation...Its PLOT actually... PLOT is one of many organisational arms of the LTTE. And M.I.A.'s father was an active member of the PLOT.

For people who don't know what t…
Written by earthling

Track listing Edit

  • CD

    format:
    number:
    title:
    number name artist hh:mm:ss
    1
    Banana Skit
    0:38
    2
    Pull Up the People
    3:47
    3
    Bucky Done Gun
    3:50
    4
    Fire Fire
    3:29
    5
    Freedom Skit
    0:44
    6
    Amazon
    4:18
    7
    Bingo
    3:16
    8
    Hombre
    4:06
    9
    One for the Head Skit
    0:31
    10
    10 Dollar
    4:05
    11
    Sunshowers
    3:15
    12
    Galang
    3:35
    13
    M.I.A.
    3:27

Credits Edit

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Other versions Edit

Arular 12 tracks format: 1 x CD
release dates: Mar 22 2005 in United States
view details
Arular 13 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: Interscope Records
catalog number: XLCD 186
release dates: May 17 2005
view details
Arular 13 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: XL Recordings
catalog number: XLCD186
release dates: Apr 18 2005 in United Kingdom
view details
Arular 13 tracks format: 1 x CD
catalog number: XLCD 186
release dates: Mar 22 2005
view details
Arular 12 tracks format: 1 x CD
release dates: Mar 22 2005
view details
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