M.I.A. Is “Stepping Up” The Crazy In New Track

Becky Bain | June 10, 2010 4:44 pm

A new electrifying song popped up this afternoon, (supposedly) an M.I.A. track from her upcoming album /\/\ /\ Y /\, and it leaves no stone unturned in terms of production. There are so many beats thrown on this electro-tinged track we don’t know where to begin. (No word on whether it was directed at any other somewhat suspect reporters, but you never know.) Listen to “Stepping Up” below.

M.I.A. – “Stepping Up”

M.I.A. – Stepping Up by sheenabeaston

This track is all over the place, and it’s sort of crazy (and on the short side), but it’s wild and energetic and we’re liking it more than her punk-leaning single “Born Free.” No wonder M.I.A. is headlining LA’s HARD fest this Summer—her new stuff seems like it fits extremely well in a dance/rave atmosphere.

Somebody who would know what /\/\ /\ Y /\ really sounds like is M.I.A.’s ex boyfriend/current collaborator Diplo, who somehow got his hands (or at least his ears) on Maya’s album. He tweeted his initial reaction:

“just listened to mastr of the MIA album.. WOW.. my 3 trax are slammin! dunno bout the rest-sounds like skinny puppy ☹ & gives me nightmares.”

(Skinny Puppy, for those not in the know, is a Canadian post-industrial band. We went over to their website to compare and contrast their sound with “Stepping Up”, but their band name makes us too sad.)

Apparently Diplo is totally okay with semi-trashing ex’s tunes and likening them to “nightmares” as long as the tracks he worked on came out okay. Seriously, Diplo, you might not want to burn that bridge. We have a feeling M.I.A. has stronger matches. (And her own Twitter account that can be used as a weapon.)

/\/\ /\ Y /\ drops July 13, and we swear we are going to have an aneurysm thinking about the amount of times we’re going to have to type out the album name in that idiotic fashion til then.

[Pitchfork]