M.I.A. is destined to be “The One” as fate dictates in her new song. It’s the artist’s first single from her sixth studio album, Mata, via Island.
“When you trying to find the one/Why do you need reminding,” she sings on the hook of the Rex Kudo & T-Minus-produced track. “No matter how you look at it, it’s me you keep finding/Trying to find the one/What you’re seeking ain’t hiding/Trying to find the one, it’s me you keep finding.”
In an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, M.I.A. said she was in a “really happy place” when writing the song, despite it being created while in the midst of the pandemic.
“I guess it is just about sticking to what you are and the truth. I think, at the end of the day, that is also what this record is about to me, is still trying to find truth. In a way, it’s kind of rebellious because everybody’s expecting me to put out that really havoc… Everyone’s expecting that, but it’s not, that’s not what it is,” she said.”It’s about the battle of the ego versus you finding yourself and you finding the spiritual leader. Spirituality within, whatever form is given to you. I think that’s really interesting, when you think everything, you get challenged by the universe.”
She also discussed the album’s themes. “I think there’s a bit of a battle on the record. That there is a bit of a clash, but the clash is like your ego and spirituality,” she said. “Those are the clashes. Because as a musician, you need some ego, otherwise you can’t do it. Also the genre of music that, genres I should say, is all very much like egocentric. It’s not like I’m an artist that came through gospel or something. For me, it was like to have that journey, and also, it was a significant time to discuss like Islamophobia…talking about wars in the Middle East, and things like that.”
The follow-up to 2016’s AIM, the release date for her sixth studio album has not year been revealed, but is “on the way,” according to a press release.
In November, she dropped “Babylon,” which was offered up as an NFT. M.I.A. also released an extended version of her 2010 mixtapeVicki Leekxin support of theCourage Foundation. Prior to “Babylon,” M.I.A. shared two songs, “Ctrl” and “Ohmni 202091,” via her O H M N I site last year.
This summer, M.I.A. will embark on a tour through Europe, with several festival date appearances, including Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Spain, on June 10.