Diplo and Switch, the two DJ-producers that always seem to get mentioned in any discussion of the British/Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A., both spin at Metro tonight. In an amazing Pitchfork interview this past August, Maya Arulpragasam excoriated tastemakers and the press for consistently short-selling her involvement in her own music while praising her collaborators:
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After spending a few hours revisiting Diplo’s stuff, including The Boogie Down Bottle Nose Dolphins, a new set of his characteristic mashups as Hollertronix (with partner Low Budget), and some remixes and a mix CD by Switch (Dave Taylor)–who’s much more involved than Diplo with M.I.A.’s brilliant new Kala (Interscope)–I can’t fathom why anyone wouldn’t give Arulpragasam all the props in the world. While there’s no doubt both of these guys are technically stunning and creative, there’s no evidence of the things that are so great about M.I.A.’s record—the global array of beats, the wicked pitch-shifted shenai samples on “World Town”—in their solo work.
