M.I.A. to perform her innovative music at Vassar

Chloe McConnell Arts Editor

Maya Arulpragasam, commonly known in the music world as M.I.A., will perform in the West Side of All Campus Dining Center (ACDC) on April 11. The doors will open at 7 p.m., and the show will start at 8 p.m. The event is presented by Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE) and is co-sponsored by the Class of 2011, the South Asian Student’s Alliance and WVKR.

“ViCE could not be more excited about having M.I.A. perform at Vassar,” said Head of ViCE Music Lizzy Plapinger ’10. “She is an incredibly talented and important artist. She plays an incredibly important role in the development of world hip-hop as well as presenting music with a strong political and social commentary. ”

M.I.A. is an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, visual artist and director. She was born in London but moved to her parents’ native Sri Lanka when she was less then a year old and later relocated to Madras, India. The cultures and political situations of these countries have had an obvious effect on her music.

While Arulpragasam was living in Sri Lanka, the civil war was escalating and her father joined the Tamil Rebellion. The violence to which Arulpragasam was exposed during the Rebellion greatly influenced her art, and she chose an alias that stands for Missing in Action.

Arulpragasam also creates visual art that is characterized by neon spray-paint and graphic scenes of war. Her art was compiled into a monograph entitled M.I.A. in 2006. She also collaborated with Elastica, an English alternative rock band, to design their album cover, to shoot their American tour and direct their music video. Electronica musician Peaches, who was Elastica’s supporting act at the time, introduced Arulpragasam to the possibility of making music as an art form. M.I.A. then produced her first singles “Galang” and “Sunshowers.”

“It has to be real,” said Arulpragasam of of her music in an interview with Designer Magazine, “and if you’re an artist it has to be a reflection of your life that you’ve lived and your opinions and how they work with society today to make them relevant.”

Arulpragasam’s music amalgamates hip-hop, electro, dancehall and funk to produce an innovative sound. Her debut album, Arular, was released in 2005 and her second album, Kala, was released in 2007. Switch, Blaqstarr, and Timbaland all contributed to the production of M.I.A.’s tracks.

MGMT (pronounced “Management”), among other unreleased guests, will open for M.I.A. The psychedelic pop band, based in Brooklyn, N.Y., was formed by two Wesleyan University graduates and has a Sony/Columbia record deal.

A line of students filled the College Center when tickets went on sale at 9 a.m. on March 26. Tickets are being sold for $14 with a Vassar ID, as well as through an online seller for the higher price of $22.
Students in line said they didn’t mind the price or the wait.

“It’s definately going to be worth it,” said Caroline McKeown ’08.

“It’s a really good deal,” agreed Dylan Stacey ’10. “She probably goes for a lot more than that.”

Plapinger explained that the concernts location, ACDC’s West Side, is the largest open, not seated, indoor space on campus after Walker Field House, which was unavailable.

“After the capacity issue with GirlTalk, ViCE decided to look at a space that would more comfortably suit the student body,” Plapinger said. “We will therefore have more tickets available for this show than TV on the Radio or Lupe [Fiasco].”

“This show is going to be epic,” Plapinger said.