As the debut of AIM draws closer, M.I.A. has shared one of the album’s most-anticipated tracks: the Zayn Malik-featuring “Freedun”. If I was going to have a collaboration and have someone like Zayn, this was the ideal song.
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In an accompanying interview with Annie Mac, M.I.A. reveals she was recently in the Himalayas filming the song’s video.
The cool collab from the United Kingdom artists is bringing us back to the English beauty’s Paper Planes days, with its techno-hip hop sound that’s perfectly complemented by M.I.A.’s raps and the One Direction alum’s haunting vocals. “I handed the album in… and he sort of called up and got on the song”. “It takes me out of my comfort zone, but it takes him out of his as well”.
The track, which premiered today (September 1) as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record In The World on BBC Radio, is the latest offering from her upcoming (and possibly final) album AIM, out September 9. “We’ve just been going back and forth on, you know, WhatsApp”, she told Entertainment Weekly in an interview. I really wanted to write a song for Zayn…. I didn’t really approach him for my own record until later on.
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The release follows previous singles “Go Off”, two versions of “Bird Song”, “Borders”, and “Foreign Friend” with assists from the Skrillex, Diplo, and Blaqstarr. “I want to do something else for a bit”, M.I.A. said about the record. You don’t get to just live things out and get involved with communities. “Something useful for a bit”. Listen to “Freedun” below.
