| "Sunshowers" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by M.I.A. | ||||
| from the album Arular | ||||
| B-side | "Fire, Fire" | |||
| Released | 5 July 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2004 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:16 | |||
| Label | XL Recordings | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| M.I.A. singles chronology | ||||
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"Sunshowers" is a song by British musician M.I.A. from her debut studio album, Arular. It was written and produced by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Ross Orton, Steve Mackey, August Darnell and Stony Jr. Browder, with additional vocals and production by Nesreen Shah and Anthony Whiting. The song was released as the second single of the album on 7 July 2004 following the 2003 release of debut "Galang" and is M.I.A.'s first official release with XL Recordings. Released in vinyl record and CD single format, with the song "Fire Fire" serving as the song's B-side, "Sunshowers" was distributed by Interscope Records in the US .
"Sunshowers" is a downtempo jungle-dance song, composed on the songwriter's Roland MC-505. The song's chorus interpolates the song "Sunshower" by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. The song gained immediate international recognition following use in fashion shows, club rotations and internet filesharing. Designer Matthew Williamson opened and closed his fashion week runway show with the song in September 2004 in New York. "Sunshowers" and other songs such as "Galang" and "Fire Fire" propagated rapidly through international fashion shows and filesharing. The song debuted at number 22 on the Canadian Singles Chart and number 93 on the UK Singles Chart and was widely acclaimed among music critics, who noted its wide ranging lyrical subject matter, delivery and music direction as highlights of the track.
An accompanying music video for the song was directed by Rajesh Touchriver and filmed in South India. Writing the video, M.I.A. was inspired to work with Touchriver after watching his debut film In the Name of Buddha. The video, frequently cited by M.I.A. as her favorite ever made, faced censorship controversies on TV and Radio, and was banned from MTV after a refusal by the songwriter to censor some of the song's lyrics or run a disclaimer disavowing them.[2] "Sunshowers" was ranked 100 on Slant's "Best of the Aughts: Singles," its list of the top 100 singles of the decade.[3]
- ^ Pitchfork Staff (2 October 2009). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
...to the still-thrilling digital Tropicalia of "Amazon" and "Sunshowers"...
- ^ Pitchfork (26 May 2016). "M.I.A. vs. the System: A Complete Timeline of Her Controversies". Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ Slant Staff (25 January 2010). "Best of the Aughts: Singles". Slant. Retrieved 19 September 2010.