M.I.A. recently released a new mixtape, titled Bells Collection, on December 25, a 16-track collection that dropped exclusively on her website. The mixtape includes new tracks “Never Alone,” “Bella Hadid,” “Amen,” and “Solitude,” as well as the new song “Free Pali,” which went viral on TikTok.
Videos by American Songwriter
The first offering from M.I.A. since her sixth studio album MATA from 2022, Bells Collection was recorded earlier in December in London. It also features collaborations with Skrillex, Blaqstarr, and Troy Baker. In a press release announcing the project, M.I.A. wrote, “I present you a gift from the East, star of wonder star of night. Beauty. Bright. Sacred. Cosmic. Magnetism. A collaboration with God. Limited edition hear it only on ohmni.com. If you want to share this gift, click send, to your friend! Merry Christmas! Jesus saves.”
M.I.A. Talks “Vision of Jesus” and Not Letting Go of Her Tamil Roots for MATA
M.I.A. previously shared she essentially became a born-again Christian in an Apple Music interview from October 2022. She explained she had a “weird spiritual experience” that made her “creatively crazy.”
[RELATED: The Meaning Behind M.I.A.’s Punk-Rock Influenced Hit “Paper Planes”]
According to the singer, in 2017 she saw a vision of Jesus. “Since then, my head has been in a totally different place,” she explained. “Being a Tamil and being a Hindu, I was very comfortable that I’d arrived finding myself. Which is, I think, going to be weird for America to process. But I had a vision and I saw the vision of Jesus Christ.”
She then spoke about how it affected her creatively. “It’s very, creatively it’s a very crazy thing because it turned my world upside down,” she said. “Because everything I thought and believed was no longer the case. And I think that was maybe a sign that something major was going to happen in the world and that people were needing to be introduced to this concept. But I always found the concept of Christianity quite basic.”
She embraced the born-again Christian rumor happily, but further explained, “I kind of couldn’t let go of the Tamil side. I think that’s why 50% of [MATA] is sort of like that. Because I’m still me. That’s still my language. And those are still my tools to be able to create beats like that or a sound like that.
“But I think the message was just to get to a peaceful place,” she continued. “Watch the space. The history is, even if it costs me my career, I won’t lie. I will tell the truth, and I will tell you what’s on my mind and my heart. If I’m coming back now saying Jesus is real, there’s a point.”
Featured Image by Kristy Sparow/Getty Images
