So, M.I.A., why are you canceling your European tour? Are you hesitant to spend July hopping around Europe due to your visa issues? “I’m canceling because I feel like physically I just have to stop for a second,” she told New York. “It’s too insane. I was losing a sense of just, like, reality, you know what I mean? I think for an artist like me, it’s so important for me to be in the streets and go to the same shop every day and see the same people and, like, communicate. And it’s really difficult to do that when you’re in the city every day for 24 hours. Like, I love connecting with my band, but I want to actually help them and be a part of peoples’ lives. Which is really hard when you’re on tour. It takes a lot out of you, physically. I make club music, which means I’m clubbing every night for, like, six months. Know what I mean? So now and again you finally just want to be gardening and get your nails done or something like that.”

Yeah, I know what you mean. The only reason I don’t make club music is that I’d totally have to spend half the year clubbing. And really, how can you be there for your band when you’re on tour with them? To be an artist, you have to get your nails done and see the same people every day. How could you do that on a tour bus?

So what are you going to do instead?

“I’ve been writing on tour. I’m really into writing new songs. I’m going to put out a new record instead. At the end of the day, I’m here, you know.”

And if you’re there, they might make you stay there.

Confirmed: M.I.A. Cancels European Tour” [Vulture]