M.I.A. "M.I.7" (2026)

M.I.7

udgivet: 17. apr. 2026

format: digital (16 x File, FLAC)

[vurdering: 2,5 / 5] [2,56]

producer: diverse

selskab: Ohmni - nationalitet: England, UK

Udvalgte numre: 2. "Prayer 777" - 5. "Sacred Heart (feat. Kala)" - 7. "Money" - 15. "Everything"

7. studiealbum fra M.I.A. følger 3½ år efter MATA (okt. 2022) og er allerede et meget omtalt album. Mest i negative vendinger. Der er dog også uenighed omkring både kunster og album, men uagtet, hvem man læner sig opad, så er M.I.7 et anderledes album fra M.I.A. alene ved at indeholde gennemført kristne budskaber, der tager afsæt i 'Johannes' Åbenbaring' [sic]. Tillige ses 7 symboler på albummets front cover, som skulle symbolisere 'Syv segl fra Åbenbaringen', hvilket gør albummet til et kristent konceptalbum. Det indeholder 16 numre og har en total spillelængde på 64 min., men det, der er ret væsentligt i den forbindelse, er måden hvorpå de mere end 60 min. fordeles. De første 15 numre alene varer i alt blot 31 min., og af albummets 16 numre er der 7 med titlen "Trumpet" efterfulgt af en fortløben nummerering fra 1-7 - alle disse fremstår som deklamationer á la "God thanked it. Said time for the [second] trumpet"... hvorefter nummeret er slut efter en varighed fra 27 til 60 sekunder. Disse kan derfor ses som afspejlinger af de 7 segl... Ja. Andre numre indeholder ikke overraskende tydelige kristne budskaber, som fx #1. "Prayer 777", #4. "Jesus (feat. Sunday Service Choir)", #5. "Sacred Heart (feat. Kala)", #11. "Calling (feat. Sunday Service Choir)", og hele albummet er generelt naturligt 'sovset godt ind' i tydelige kristne budskaber, som en afspejlning af M.I.A.'s nyeste positionering i hendes (hidtil) velbevandrede kunstneriske og personlige søgen. Efter nogle år med forsøg på at markedsføre diverse tøjkollektioner med fokus på bæredygtighed og skærmning mod 5G og 10G stråling [jo jo!] mm., hvilket bl.a. forklarer ventetiden siden sidste album, så ser det nu ud til, at hun har fundet meningen (med det hele) og derfor udbringer det glade budskab med M.I.7. Og deraf følgende har, som indledningsvis indikeret, album og kunstner været genstand for en del mestendels negativ kritik, men ikke kun, forstås.

Personligt, gør det ikke nødvendigvis musik til noget dårligt, hvis det afspejler en tydelig religiøs overbevisning. Det kan det ofte, men Ray Charles, Van Morrison og fx Stevie Wonder har alle lavet flere udmærkede albums, hvor deres spirituelle holdninger har fyldt en del, men hvor musikken alligevel har gjort det til originale og lytteværdige værker. Religiøsiteten fylder i den grad på dette album, og hvad værre er, så mangler albummet egentlig musikalsk resonans. Der er intet nyt fra M.I.A. andet end gentagelser af musikalske mønstre - og det er så, når det er bedst. For det meste føles det uden involvering og substans. Albummets sidste nummer "30 Minutes of Silence" [!] mere end fordobler albummets spilletid - det bemærkelsesværdige er, at nummeret kommer med 30 minutters stilhed [tid til spirituel eftertænksomhed] efterfulgt af et kristent budskab næsten uden hørbar instrumentering.

M.I.7 er en original udgivelse. Det er det utvivlsomt. Det er bare ikke én af den slags, der giver mig lyst til at finde lignende albums, og hvad M.I.A. angår, så lader hun til at være tilpas skråsikker i sit nervesystem til at forholde sig til nuancer, faldgruber, og diverse former for manipulation - nej vel!! Albummet her falder ganske hårdt eller fladt og placerer sig som hendes indtil videre suverænt ringeste.

Det er ikke anbefalet - som i slet ikke. Måske min vurdering ligger i den høje ende af skalaen? Som Fantano tænker jeg: Det.er.ikke.godt.

[ needledrop: 'NOT GOOD' , 👍Slant 2,5 / 5,👎Pitchfork 7,4 / 10 stjerner ]

Terence Trent D'Arby "Neither Fish Nor Flesh..." (1989)

Neither Fish Nor Flesh...
release date: Oct. 23, 1989
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]
producer: Terence Trent D'Arby
label: CBS Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 3."It Feels So Good To Love Someone Like You" - 4. "To Know Someone Deeply Is To Know Someone Softly" (4 / 5) - 5. "I'll Be Alright" (4 / 5) (live) - 6. "Billy Don't Fall" (3,5 / 5)

2nd studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby with the full title Neither Fish Nor Flesh (A Soundtrack of Love, Faith, Hope & Destruction) is released 2½ years after his great debut. The style is less focused, and loans from funk rock folk and gospel. It doesn't contain the same great single hits as the debut, but it contains fine music. I don't recall hearing it upon its release, and frankly suspect that most radio stations and distributor links didn't want D'Arby at all. Critics were hard on D'Arby. Well, he hadn't made it easy to himself claiming that his debut was a more important album than Sgt. Pepper... by The Beatles, and generally just taking it for granted that everyone in touch with the music industry could tell he was a genius. Prior to the album release, a German producer, Frank Farian reissued the album Love on Time (1984) by the German band, The Touch, a band featuring Terence Trent D'Arby on vocals. He played in the band while serving the US army stationed in Frankfurt, and Farian took advantage of D'Arby's new-found international debut to reissue the album as Early Works against D'Arby's will. When Neither Fish Nor Flesh was released, many music critics called the new album over-ambitious, pretentious, and simply rejected D'Arby's persona. Apparently, and according to D'Arby he found himself and the record label with conflicting ideas about promotional aspects, which wasn't in favor of the album nor the artist behind it. Some time after the release, TTD referred to himself as Sananda Maitreya, a name he legally changed to in 2001. On his homepage referring to this album, he recalls: "We believe this is the project that literally killed ‘TTD’, and from whose molten ashes, began the life of Sananda."
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Boney M "Mary's Boy Child" (1978) (single)

Mary's Boy Child, 7'' single

release date: Nov. 27, 1978

format: vinyl

[single rate: 2 / 5] [2,00]

producer: Frank Farian

label: Hansa International - nationality: (West) Germany

Tracklist: A) "Mary's Boy Child" (2 / 5) - - B) "Oh My Lord" (2 / 5)

Single release by Boney M with its cover version of a Harry Belafonte psalm. I have no recollection of how I came to own this particular single. I do recall listening to Boney M back in the late 70s, and I had recently purchased Nightflight to Venus (Jul. 1978), but this is so very different, and I never liked neither of the two songs included on this single. It may likely have been an extra Christmas present from my parents, who knew I listened to Boney M... But gospel and psalms have never been down my aisle and stylistically, it's far from their most recent album. Frankly, 2 out of 5 stars is a bit high, but as I don't feel sure of the difference between 1,5 and 2 stars, it's definitely not music that I enjoy.

Not recommended.

Kåre Mörkestöl og Egil Syvertsen "Til gitar, Hammondorgel og trommer" (1964) (ep)

Til gitar, Hammondorgel og trommer, 7'' ep

release date: 1964

format: vinyl (HEP 206)

[album rate: 2 / 5] [1,88]

producer: ?

label: Harmoni - Norsk Grammofonkompani a/s - nationality: Norway

Tracklist: A) 1. "Herligheten ventar" - 2. "Du spør om min lykke" - - B) 1. "Jobs gud er trofast" - 2. "Min store gud"

Ep release by Norwegian Christian hymns duo, guitarist Kåre Mörkestol & pianist Egil Syvertsen - on the front cover with Mörkestöl on the left. All four songs are all strongly Christian-founded folk and gospel songs with the addition of some country style to it.

This is one of two eps by the duo from my parents' record collection - the other being even stronger folklore and hymn-like. I knew of this from age 6-10 but I never really enjoyed it that much, but still found it slightly bettering the '63 release by the duo - there's simply to much religious content to it but also of little interest as it's styled as hymns, folklore, and gospel.

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This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Kåre Mörkestöl og Egil Syvertsen "Synger til gitarer og Hammondorgel" (1963) (ep)

Synger til gitarer og Hammondorgel, 7'' ep

release date: 1963?

format: vinyl (HEP 198)

[album rate: 1,5 / 5] [1,35]

producer: ?

label: Harmoni - Norsk Grammofonkompani a/s - nationality: Norway

Tracklist: A) 1. "Når Jesus kommer" - 2. "Lengselsfullt skuer jeg opp mot det høye" - - B) 1. "Velg ham din frelser" - 2. "Han er min"

Ep release by Norwegian Christian performer-duo guitarist Kåre Mörkestol & pianist Egil Syvertsen - sometimes credited with reversed names as on this release, perhaps simple because Syvertsen is on the left. All four songs are all strongly Christian-founded folk and gospel hymns.

This single was part of my parents' record collection, and it's a single I knew of at age 6-10 but never really enjoyed - both because of the strong religious theme and by the fact that it's styled as hymns, folklore, and gospel. There's no indication of year release but gven the fact that I own another release by the duo, released in '64 and with higher issue number on the same label, it's likely that this item was released at some point earlier. It could be earlier in the same year, though. However, the other issue by the duo is in a more folk-shaped style of the same religious hymns but with a stronger country style to it, which could suggest that this release is from a somewhat earlier stage, which also is stressed by the cover photos. And speaking of photographs, as a kid, I found that the photo of Syvertsen (here at the far left) very much ressembles early photos of my father - or, at least the same hair style.

Another curiosity about this item, is the blue pen strokes in the top right corner indicating '13' on the front cover. I admit that was me at say 8-10 years old. Sitting in our basement with a friend of mine, we played some of my parents' 7'' vinyl releases on a travel turntable model and then we would rank what we had listened to and I put our common verdict on the sleeve - this ending in 13th spot. I don't know if that was the highest number but close to 'cause it never was one of our favourites, although we did hear it to the end.

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This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

The Highwaymen "Michael" (1961) (single)

Michael, 7'' single

release date: 1961

format: vinyl (67 007)

[single rate: 2 / 5] [2,16]

producer: Don Costa

label: United Artists - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) "Michael" - - B) "Santiano"

Single release by American folk quintet The Highwaymen is a recording of a traditional spiritual, which had already been recorded by several other artists but this version peaked at number #1 on the national Billboard Top 40 singles chart, as it repeated on the UK singles hit list - a triumph they were unable to repeat later on. The title song is also known as "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore".

This record was part of my parents' record collection, and it's single I never really took any pleasure from.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.