As she is wont to do, M.I.A. is going about things a bit differently in advance of her new album. The rollout for the freshly dubbed Matahdatah started back in March when she dropped the track “Can See Can Do” on Twitter, which was subsequently taken down presumably just as Interscope execs starting pulling out their hair (you can still listen to the track unofficially via YouTube).
With things clearly much more legit this time, M.I.A. has now released the single “Swords,” but, uniquely enough, as attached to a two-song, self-directed short film compiled with footage shot in India and the Ivory Coast. The first half is the “Swords” portion (with the second half featuring the Matangi track “Warriors”), and stars some badass Indian girls clanking around with swords, which is apparently where the sample used in the song is from. Watch the whole thing below via Apple Music.
According to M.I.A., there are ten more countries to be represented with future videos over the coming months, all tying together with the theme of the album, which is there in the title: “Broader Than A Border.”
Which borders, though? Totally up in the air. Says M.I.A.: “I haven’t chased where to go yet, so who knows where this project will take me.”
