India's first tryst with Mia’s talent came perhaps with her hit single Sunflowers in 2005, which was, ironically, shot in the jungles around South India. But more recently, everyone will remember her for the extremely popular, alternative hip-hop number Paper Planes in Slumdog Millionaire.
Mia's third album Maya is a revelation from start to finish. There is not a single song that doesn’t leave you wondering how you never liked the genre before. The music is strongly techno and electronic with a whole new range of sounds (including a drilling machine, gun shots and machine guns) that keep you glued into the album, like a Hitchcock thriller.
There are very few artists who use the power of music to communicate a strong message. Mia, who reminds one of the vivacious Lady Gaga, communicates messages of communal tension, terrorism and the ravages of civil war in Sri Lanka, in almost every song in the album.
An artist who has been in the limelight for her controversial lyrics and videos, the tensions haven't toned her style much. The album is still unabashedly blunt and hits you right in the face.
Stepping up runs along similar lines as Paper Planes but with a huskier overtone to the vocals. Hip-hop elements too come in here and there. Mia tries other things too, with Tell me why, she moves into melody while Space is a complete techno number with a bit of rap.
It takes a muscle uses an electronically modified voice, much like Akon's Lonely but the tones keep changing, much to the delight of musically inclined ears. There is a bit of banjo and some blues too, added to the usual slice of experimental sounds, that makes Mia unique.
XXXO and Teqkilla are good dance numbers too, quite vividly showing Mia's versatility not just with the verse but with tunes too. Overall, it is tough to pick a favourite as all songs differ in their tones but allow the listeners to relish the differences.
Maya is perhaps only the beginning to what Mia could become.
— A.P.