Natacha Atlas Releases Ana Hina A Blend of Egyptian Pop and French Chanson

Natacha Atlas releases Ana Hina another treat for fans who have come to love her eclectic blend of Egyptian pop music, Middle Eastern traditional music and French chanson

Ana Hina, Natacha's latest world fusion album release, departs somewhat from her previous albums with an even more ecelectic blend of chanson and Egyptian influences. Her singing is in great form. The album includes a gorgeous interpretation of another Nina Simone cover, Black Is the Colour – along with a couple of James Bond themes. Her songs have appeared on soap operas in Egypt; though based largely in the UK (in a house in Ongar, Essex she’s customized with Egyptian friezes) she has a room in her best girlfriend’s home in Cairo and visits whenever she can.

Musically and geographically, Natacha Atlas has always been an itinerant. The Anglo-Egyptian singer has spent more than a decade fusing electronic beats with North African and Arabic music, finding links between seemingly disparate musical genres, exploring new and different sonic settings and working with a wealth of like-minded collaborators from across the world along the way. The resulting body of work is both a triumph of true multiculturalism and a testament to the richness and accessibility of Arabic culture. It is, indeed, an oeuvre unlike any other.

Presiding over it all, of course, is Atlas’s extraordinary voice. Meltingly sensuous and gloriously passionate, delicate with melisma and microtones, it bridges Middle Eastern and Western styles with instinctive ease. Ana Hina, then, is the album we’ve been waiting for: a contemporary classical affair that places this god-given instrument centre stage. A throwback to Arabic music’s Golden Era of the late 1950s and 60s, to the sounds and idols that shaped Atlas’s youth. An album that looks to the past while imagining the future, buoyed by some of the best classical and traditional musicians working today.

Atlas was originally billed to star in and provide the soundtrack to the film Whatever Lola Wants, directed by Nabil Ayouch. However, shooting delays caused Atlas to only be involved in the film's soundtrack. Her song "Gafsa" (Halim, 1997) was used as the main soundtrack during the Korean film Bin-Jip (also known as 3-Iron) (2004) by Kim Ki-Duk. She participated in the piece "Light of Life (Ibelin Reprise)" for the soundtrack of Ridley Scott's film Kingdom of Heaven.

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" (an updated form of Egyptian pop music). Her music has been influenced by many styles including Arabesque music, drum 'n' bass and reggae.

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