M.I.A.‘s new album will be “a total departure” from her established sound.

Producer Diplo, who collaborated with M.I.A. (real name Maya Arulpragasam) on her breakthrough single “Paper Planes,” promises he has drawn from a well of diverse musical influences to create tracks for the Sri Lankan born singer’s third album. “On the new record I’ve just done for her - which might be the single - I sampled a bunch of gospel-y, old-school, Alabama, weird, Sacred Harp singers,” he said.

“It’s turning into an Animal Collective kind of record, which represents a total departure from what you would expect from her, but that’s where her head was at. She just had a baby so she was on this elated mood. With her it’s always sort of random, whatever you think was not going to be productive - that recording ended up being a really s****y demo and then it turned into a big song.”

Although it upsets some musicians, Diplo also defended his practice of sampling to create records, saying it helps give the sampled music a new context.

“I think everyone who plays an instrument and comes from a real musical background is a bit perturbed by sampling in general. It might be ignorance to begin with - but always, when we sample, I try to be making statements,” he added.

“I think ‘Paper Planes’ is a good example because it’s a song that represents Maya’s attitude. It sampled a Clash record - the goal is to try to reach people and give the song more depth. It’s hard to pick up on it, but if you do dig into it, people are like, ‘Damn, that’s an all-around song now’ when they understand the sample source.

The new album will be released on June 28 in Europe and June 29 in the US.