Units were an American synthpunk band that was founded in San Francisco in 1978. It was active until 1984. They were one of America's earliest electronic new wave bands, and have been cited as pioneers of synthpunk, also retrospectively known as "electropunk". The Units were notable for their use of synthesizers in place of guitars, and multimedia performances featuring multiple projections of satirical, instructional films critical of conformity and consumerism.
Kala is the second studio album by British recording artist M.I.A. It was released on 8 August 2007 through XL Recordings. M.I.A. named the album after her mother and has stated that her mother's struggles in life are a major theme of the album. It was mainly written and produced by M.I.A. and Switch, and features contributions from Timbaland, Diplo, Afrikan Boy and The Wilcannia Mob.
British rapper and singer M.I.A. has released six studio albums, two extended plays, three mixtapes, forty singles and twenty-nine music videos. Born Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, M.I.A. began her career as a visual artist and film-maker, and moved into making music after filming a documentary on the band Elastica in 2001. The band's lead singer, Justine Frischmann, lent her a Roland MC-505 sequencer/drum machine which she used to make a demo tape that secured her a contract with British label XL Recordings.
Ryeisha Berrain, known by her stage name Rye Rye, is an American rapper, singer, dancer and actress. Signed to N.E.E.T. Recordings, she released her first mixtape RYEot PowRR in 2011 and her anticipated debut album Go! Pop! Bang! on May 15, 2012. In early 2009, MSNBC listed Rye Rye as one of the "5Top: Top of the pops! Up-and coming young singers." In 2011, Rye Rye was named one of Billboard's "21 Under 21". Rye Rye made her acting debut in the 2012 film 21 Jump Street.
"Sound of Kuduro" is a kuduro song by Buraka Som Sistema featuring DJ Znobia, M.I.A., Saborosa and Puto Prata, from their album Black Diamond released in 2008. The song was recorded in Angola, and a video for the song was recorded in 2007. "Sound of Kuduro" also appeared on the special edition of M.I.A.'s Kala. Pitchfork Media placed the song at number 97 on their best tracks of 2008 list.
Buraka Som Sistema was an electronic dance music project from Portugal, specializing in a fusion of techno beats with the African zouk and kuduro genre. It is generally credited with creating the "zouk bass" and "progressive kuduro" variant and has received an MTV European Music Award. In 2015 Buraka Som Sistema said they would be taking an hiatus starting in 2016, and on 1 July 2016 they performed live for the last time in Lisbon.
N.E.E.T. Recordings was a vanity record label of Sri Lankan English hip hop recording artist M.I.A. as an imprint of Interscope Records in 2008. N.E.E.T. is an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment or Training".
Intimacy Remixed is the remix album to Intimacy, the third album by indie rock band Bloc Party. It was released on 11 May 2009 in the United Kingdom through Wichita Recordings, the band's primary label, in limited edition CD and triple LP formats to coincide with Bloc Party's worldwide touring schedule. The record entered the UK Album Chart at number 79. In the United States, it achieved a peak of number 15 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
"XXXO" is a song by English recording artist M.I.A., released as the lead single from her third studio album, Maya (2010). The song was written by M.I.A., Charles "Blaqstarr" Smith and Cherry Byron-Withers, and produced by Blaqstarr and Rusko. "XXXO" was first released as a digital download following its world premiere on radio on 10 May 2010, and released in physical format in the United Kingdom on 28 June 2010. Two XXXO remix EPs were released alongside the single, featuring Jay-Z, SBTRKT, KickRaux amongst others on official remixes. The song's release followed the digital release of "Born Free", also from Maya.
Maya is the third studio album by British recording artist M.I.A. It was released on 7 July 2010 through N.E.E.T. Recordings, XL and Interscope. Songwriting and production was primarily handled by M.I.A., Blaqstarr and Rusko. Producers Diplo and Switch, alongside M.I.A.'s brother Sugu, also worked on the album. Maya was mainly composed and recorded at M.I.A.'s house in Los Angeles. The album's tracks centre on the theme of information politics and are intended to evoke what M.I.A. called a "digital ruckus"; elements of industrial music were incorporated into M.I.A.'s sound for the first time upon its release. A deluxe edition was released simultaneously, featuring four new tracks.
"Teqkilla" is a song by British recording artist M.I.A. from her third studio album, Maya (2010). The track was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Rusko, Switch, John Hill and Cherry Byron-Withers. Production of the song was handled by M.I.A., Rusko, Switch and Hill.
"Bang" is a song and single by rapper/dancer Rye Rye featuring M.I.A. It was recorded in 2008 and appears on the deluxe version of her 2012 album Go! Pop! Bang!. It was released in 2009 on N.E.E.T. Recordings and Interscope Records. The single was released first, followed by an EP of remixes, Bang – The Remixes, which includes remixes by Buraka Som Sistema and DJ Sega. The song appears in the films Fast & Furious and Step Up 3D and in the episode "The Sorkin Notes" of the TV-series Entourage.
"Tell Me Why" is a song by British recording artist M.I.A. from her third studio album, Maya (2010). It was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, and Diplo, and production was handled by the latter. The song was recorded at Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica, California on Diplo's birthday in 2009. The producer admitted that "Tell Me Why" is his favorite song on the album, likening the track's sound to Wall of Sound and Motown. The song incorporates elements of Sarah Lancaster's "The Last Words of Copernicus" as performed by the Alabama Sacred Harp Singers. It was released worldwide as a digital download, under license to XL Recordings and N.E.E.T. Recordings, on 6 July 2010, as the fifth single from the album. No music video was made for the single, and M.I.A. has never performed it live.
"It Takes a Muscle to Fall in Love" is the debut single by Dutch electronic band Spectral Display, released as a single in 1982 from their eponymous debut album. It was written by members Michel Mulders and Henri Overduin, and produced by Mulders.
Doctor P is the stage name of the English dubstep producer and DJ, Shaun Brockhurst. Brockhurst has also produced drum and bass under the aliases Sounds Destructive, Slum Dogz and DJ Picto. Some of his songs, including "Sweet Shop", "Tetris", "Big Boss", "Watch Out" and the remixes of Example's "Last Ones Standing" and Plan B's "Love Goes Down" have all received more than 5 million views on YouTube. He is the co-founder of Circus Records, along with Flux Pavilion, DJ Swan-E and Earl Falconer.
"Bring the Noize" is a hip-hop song by British recording artist M.I.A. from her fourth studio album, Matangi (2013). The track was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Surkin, Switch, Para One and Hugues Rey, and produced by Switch and Surkin. It references Public Enemy's 1987 song "Bring the Noise" and Janis Joplin's track "Me and Bobby McGee".
Joshua Paul Davis, better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. His debut studio album, Endtroducing....., was released in 1996. He is known for layered production that uses numerous samples, often from obscure sources, to create new compositions and whose music was described in Allmusic as having "revolutionized hip-hop".
"Steppin Up" is a song by British recording artist M.I.A. from her third studio album, Maya (2010). The track was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Rusko and Switch, and produced by Rusko. The song was self-released worldwide as a digital download, under license to XL Recordings and N.E.E.T. Recordings, on 16 June 2010, as the third single from the album. A different version of the song later appeared on the Vicki Leekx mixtape under a slightly altered title. The song was performed during the Maya Tour in 2010 and 2011. No music video has been made for the single. The track received mixed to positive reviews from music critics.
"Bird Song" is a song by British recording artist M.I.A. from her fifth studio album, AIM (2016). It served as the fourth single from the album. M.I.A. announced the release of the single on 1 August 2016, and that the producers include Diplo and Blaqstarr. The song was written by M.I.A. and Blaqstarr, and was the first collaboration between Diplo and M.I.A. since her 2010 album Maya. The Blaqstarr version was officially released on 12 August 2016 while the release of the Diplo version was delayed due to clearance problems with Interscope, and eventually premiered on 18 August.
João Barbosa, commonly known as Branko, is a Portuguese DJ and producer who first became known as part of the Buraka Som Sistema.
