LET ME DO MA THING YOOOOO

i'm a broke like fuck but proud as hell to say it, because i spent my last significant $20 on MIA/Diplo tonight at the drake. this is food money we're talkin here. so, is it worth it to starve for a couple days? yes, because this show was of undeniable importance to this little scene here in toronto. a visit from MIA is major recognition for this city's dedicated underground artists and music goers. she's only barely caught on here, yet a tour stop so early in the furor of her rising popularity remained a priority.

the crowd was receptive from the opening of Diplo's boss set. it was quite a surprise to see Much Music cameras, and their vj's gettin down dirty styles with the wavelength people. by the time MIA joined him, the hands were up and the dancers ready to shout along.

maya arulpragasm, for those who don't know quite yet (you will soon enough), comes from london, where after years of art school, dance routines and album design, she left to visit her native sri lanka. although she was the daughter of a prominent Tamil Tiger, it had never hit her how serious the civil war was until she saw a great portion of her generation embroiled in the conflict. when she returned to england, MIA came out of the canvas, so to speak, and in a very short amount of time, she's got world recognition and toronto was was hit with a pleasant surprise.

after a number of singles, she's releasing a new album. available on the web is the MIA/Diplo remix project, Piracy Funds Terrorism. download it, as requested by the artists themselves.

so imagine how it must feel to be in toronto right now. we have MIA from england/sri lanka and Diplo from philly, with a trusted back up MC and dancer, dropping in early and laying down an 8 song, 40 minute set replete with encore, costume change and "first time ever" new songs. maya and her stage sparring partner worked moves like i aint seen since afrofest, yet they make no sound of breath between lines and exude a collected posture on stage that they almost make it look too easy. we're so thoroughly unaware of the sweat it must cause them to play. that combination of musical intensity and the coolness of performance made the show rather arresting, and only riled the crowd further. it is hump night, after all.

check out MIA's site...and a sick interview with diplo.

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this gig was also quite important to our little show here. a few discussions i had tonight will continue on the radio this month of february, also known as "guestuary" or "the month of guests". ok, we won't have them every week, but every other week, a guest panel straight out of toronto. here's our sched for the next month:

fri feb 4 - more new tracks, the electro stuff you haven't heard yet from montreal, vancouverite psychadelia, and some interesting takes on factory records classics.

fri feb 11- wavelength 5th anniversary weekend special
w/ steve kado, founder of the blocksblocksblocks recording club; johnny dovercourt, booking agent and PR of wavelength/music gallery; jonah, from the blow and YACHT (see last post for links). examining the impact of wavelength on the toronto underground, and looking to its future.

fri feb 18 - undecided

fri feb 25 - the intern show
w/ jaded former interns of eye magazine paul carlucci, dave morris, and current intern cam tulk to discuss the current good, bad and ugly of the local indie music paper market.

also this month, new and exclusive cutups from siktransit.