Natacha Atlas
Natacha Atlas released her first solo LP, Diaspora, in the summer of '95, and in time honoured fashion, the critics scrambled for superlatives. The LP saw Natacha combining the dubby, beat-driven global dance of her long-time associates Transglobal Underground, with the more traditional work of Arabic musicians like Tunisian singer-songwriter Walid Rouissi and Egyptian composer and Oud-master Essam Rashad. The result was a colection of songs of love and yearning which genuinely fused West and East. Her second LP, Halim, sees Natacha exploring further her deeply felt affinity with Arabic musical heritage.
Natacha moved to England as a teenager, and since then has involved herself in a wide variety of musical projects. Dividing her time between the UK and Brussels, she sang in a variety of Arabic and Turkish nightclubs, and spent a brief stint in a Belgian salsa band called Mandanga. As she shuttled between Northampton and Brussels, however, she began to attract the attention of the Balearic beat crew ¡Loca! and Jah Wobble, then assembling his Invaders of the Heart. In '91, both these projects bore fruit. Timbal by ¡Loca! started out as a track on Nation Records' Fuse Two compilation and became a massive club hit, while Wobble's Rising Above Bedlam - five tracks which Natasha co-wrote - attracted much critical acclaim and a Mercury award nomination. The success of Timbal cemented Natacha's relationship with the ground-breaking Nation Label, who introduced her to Transglobal Underground, at that time enjoying Top 40 success with the anthemic Templehead. As chief collaborator, lead singer and belly dancer with TGU, Natacha has performed all over the world - playing Glastonbury, WOMAD, Reading, Phoenix and the Brixton Academy and many international festivals. At the same time, she has worked with an impressive variety of other musicians, including Apache Indian and Peter Gabriel, and has found the time to contribute to film soundtracks - including Stargate, with David Arnold.
CD Single: Dub Yalil
[NR28CD]
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Released '94 on Nation Records.
Single: Leysh Nat'Arak
[NAT 40CD, NAT 40T]
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Released in 1995 on Nation Records/Beggars Banquet and features on Natacha's debut album, Diaspora. Produced by Transglobal Underground. Written and performed by Natacha Atlas, Hamid Mantu, Count Dubulah and Attiah Ahlan. This is probably Natacha's strongest single to date with quality mixes from Alex Kasiek and Aki Nawaz.
Single: Yella Chant
[NAT 60CD, NAT 60T]
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Released in 1995 on Nation Records/Beggars Banquet and features on Natacha's debut album, Diaspora. All in all a very strong single that's worth purchasing. The above track-listing is that of the 12"; I know that the CD single format features an additional mix of Yella Chant which is superior to the above mixes. Also look in on Banco-de-Gaia's web site which features a full length unreleased remix of Yella Chant in Real Audio (which happens to be rather good!).
Album: Diaspora
[NATCD47]
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Released '95 on Nation Records/Beggars Banquet. Natacha Atlas released her first solo LP, Diaspora, in the summer of '95, and in time honoured fashion, the critics scrambled for superlatives. The LP saw Natacha combining the dubby, beat-driven global dance of her long-time associates Transglobal Underground, with the more traditional work of Arabic musicians like Tunisian singer-songwriter Walid Rouissi and Egyptian composer and Oud-master Essam Rashad. The result was a colection of songs of love and yearning which genuinely fused West and East.
Single: Amulet
[NAT 86T, NAT 86CD]
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The first single to feature from the Natacha's second album Halim. Released in 1997 on Nation Records/Beggars Banquet & written by Natacha Atlas, Count Dubulah and Alex Kasiek. This single draws heavily on Moroccan music, featuring the ragamuffin Rai vocals of Kamel and Mounir from Sawt El Atlas, whom Natacha met at a Parisian festival performance.
The best mix of the title track is that which features on the album (and of which only features as an edit on this single), and is a fine track at that - very catchy and will have your foot tapping in no time. However, neither Omid Nourizadeh of 16B Productions or T.J.Rehmi do anything respectable with the track. The bonus track here is AnDeel - a wonderful track with beautiful vocals from Natacha and haunting strings - lovely.
Album: Halim
[NATCD1087]
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Released on Nation Records.
Album: Ayeshteni
[MNTCD1024]
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Released 4/01 on Mantra Recordings.
Other Info:
Also, see my page on Transglobal Underground.
For further information on Natacha Atlas, see:
Nation Records Web Site
Beggars Banquet Web Site
Transglobal Underground Web Site
Also worth checking out is this fan site at www.natachaatlas.net.
