Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Middle Eastern delights from a delicious chanteuse...., 4 May 2001
By A Customer
This, like many of Natacha Atlas' CDs, is NOT instantly accessible music to those seeking neatly parcelled recognisable tunes, so with an initial look-in it may appear a tad indistinguishable; beyond the "World"-tag novelty factor. BUT...on closer inspection it yields such sweeping riches as Soleil D'Egypte (with a cinematic Lawrence-Of-Arabia orchestral motif threading under Natacha's lusciously intoned French) & Rah (languidly sensuous belly-dancing tempo in more traditional vein) - bear in mind that many venerated singers in the Middle East will make circular songs like these last FOR AGES (longer than the obligatory 3 minutes), and so it's hypnotically swooping & sliding, percussive complexities are meant to be slowly savoured, not easily digested like a takeaway. It's true, stretching from Nicosia to Cairo, there always seems to be music similar to this creating an exotically arabesque, partially unnoticed, backdrop. But it is undoubtedly Natacha's effortlessly assured placing of her tasty vocal, and the cross-cultural aspects, which lifts this above the outlandish hubbub of take-or-leave bazaar music. Quite lovely! Keep it going Natacha....*smiles appreciatively*!
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Her best album, 11 Jun 2005
I first became aware of Natacha Atlas from her collaboration with Jean-Michel Jarre on C'est La Vie from his performance at the pyramids in GIza on Millenium Eve. I was awestruck by both what I saw, and what I heard. What a voice!For me, this is Natacha Atlas's best album (and I do have all of them). The whole album works as a whole, with absolutely no filler and an awesome triptych of songs at the heart of the album in the form of Soleil D'Egypte, Ne Me Quitte Pas and Mish Fadilak. None of the electronic and fake sounding drum sounds from her earlier recordings are present and altogether more authentic sound is felt from the album. The only bum note that could be mentioned is that of I Put A Spell On You, which comes across as an attempt to have a English vocal song to act as a crossover single. Given the chance though, this is a fantastic rendition of the song with a soaring vocal from Atlas. If you're new to Ms Atlas and already have the best of (or even don't), I would heartily recommend this to anyone as a good starting point.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As a German living in the Middle East I truly appreciate this kind of music!, 29 Jun 2008
As a German living in the Middle East - Gulf region: Oman, Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Quatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, ... - I truly do appreciate the music from that area. The rhythm is always mystical and very highly personal. You can feel the instruments and the musical tones which the artist wants you to feel. The musician wants to take you on a trip. They want to take you to a world unlike any other. And in this album, the very popular female singer NATASHA ATLAS manages to do just that.
NATASHA ATLAS is a phenomenon! A Portrait: NATACHA ATLAS
Natacha Atlas (born March 20, 1964) is a Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic and North African music with Western electronic music. She once termed her music "cha'abi moderne". Her music has been influenced by many styles including Arabesque music, drum 'n' bass and reggae.
Atlas, the lead singer in Transglobal Underground and solo artist, uses her multi-ethnic background when singing lyrics a hybrid of culture and the Arabic world. She personally calls herself a "human Gaza Strip," reflecting her diverse background and thoughts relating to the Muslim and Jewish world. For example, her lyrics say "Why are we fighting/When we're all together/Let's return to peace/Let's make peace, we are brothers" (from her song "Laysh Nata'arak"). In her music, Atlas makes many political statements regarding Islam and Judaism and often takes a middle ground approach advocating for peace and harmony. Moreover, she personally considers herself a Muslim and phrases from the Quran are intertwined in her lyrics. Even her fan website reflects Atlas's personal identification with Egypt and the Arabic culture. During an interview with Muslim Wake Up! Online magazine, Atlas talks about her identification with her European and Arabic roots by saying "There will always be two identities living within me: Arabic and European. When I was very young, I tried to ignore the Arabic side, my father's side, because I saw it as foreign. But something happened in my late teens. I was at a nightclub in Brussels and I heard Arabic music, and I knew then that there was something inside of me that I wanted to go back to. So I ended up going to the other extreme. But as you mature, you realize that you have both inside you. That's how God made me. These days I dream in two languages, and not a day goes by when I don't end up using Arabic" In 2001, Atlas was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Conference Against Racism.
It's all about roots, really. If you don't know where you come from, and explore that, then you're pretty much just drifting into the future. Natacha Atlas, who's recorded with Jah Wobble and been a vital part of Transglobal Underground, knows all about roots. Understanding her Egyptian ancestry and her place in the world - she lives in London - has been the stuff of her three solo albums. On the most recent, Gedida (the Arabic word for new), she's really brought all her past into focus, balancing all the elements to give something that's, well....new. The past meets the present and creates something rather thrilling, and decidedly more organic.
"I like to augment music with technology, because I think it's good to be in the here and now."
"I suppose it was a natural thing," she explains. "I was never a techno kind of person. But I like to augment music with technology, because I think it's good to be in the here and now. You have to represent this time and age, but that's the extent of it. I don't even know how to use a sampler."
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