Sri Lankan artist Maya Arulpragasam, commonly known by her initials MIA, saw her second single Galang debut on the British dance charts at number 12 today. The track was released after her debut single Sunshowers in July, but was the one that first brought her to the attention of the music industry.

A bootleg Sholay remix of Galang also reached number 2 in Bobby and Nihal's chart this week, remixed by upcoming producer Sunit Panchal. That mix can be downloaded here. Galang saw limited release on Showbiz Records last year, who were also behind PMC's Mundian To Bach Ke.

The 28 year old MC, now based in London, is signed on to XL Recordings - also the home of Dizzee Rascal and The Prodigy. She has been attracting the media limelight with interviews in the Independent and the Sunday Times along with praising reviews in the Observer and much of the music press.

Maya came to the UK aged 11 when her family fled war-torn Sri Lanka, later gaining a place at the prestigious Central St Martin's College of Art and Design in London. She became involved in the music scene while doing CD front covers.

"I was doing work for bands, but my tutors just wanted me to make films of leaves in the trees or ripples in the water to represent the avant-garde and feminist whatever. I was like, 'I can't do that. My mum's about to get evicted from her council flat. I can't pretend life is glorious through this leaf on 16mm with some scratched dirt on it'," she said in an interview earlier.

Her debut album is set to follow in the new year, with production by Pulp's Steve Mackey and Richard X of Sugababes, Girls Aloud and Rachel Stevens fame already lined up. In the meantime she is also pushing an underground release of Hombre, on which she sings in both English and Spanish.

You can watch the Galang video from here.

Upcoming tour dates:
November 13th @ Cargo in London
November 26th @ Club Suicide in Manchester
November 28th in Sheffield