Having lived in Brussels for the best part of last year, I got to appreciate that city's lively multicultural beat. Multiculturalism is nowadays definitely passé: following the Paris attacks (largely designed in and launched from a predominantly muslim Brussels neighborhood), it has been blamed for all kinds of social problems from unemployment to criminality, gender violence and terrorism. Obviously people (deliberately?) confuse tolerance with indifference, the only alternative to discrimination Western societies offer to immigrants with different cultural backgrounds. Many demand that immigrants either assimilate or leave. I personally think that all the various ethnic influences are what make big European cities so much more interesting. Music and food are prime examples of that - Can you imagine a strictly English London? How boring would that be?
Natacha Atlas is a child of that great melting pot: born and bred in Brussels, she can hardly be identified as a Belgian. With parents born in England and Belgium, her roots stretch to Morocco, Egypt, and Palestine. In Brussels she made a living working intermittently as a bellydancer in Turkish and Moroccan clubs, and as a singer in a latin salsa band, while in London she fell in with world/techno crossover band Transglobal Underground. Her music incorporates elements of all those styles, and more besides: Though basically Middle Eastern with beats, she's also quite the jazz diva on Bond theme "You Only Live Twice" and James Brown cover "(It's a Man's Man's) Man's World", sounds like Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard on "Le Printemps" and is at her best when she colours blues standard "I Put a Spell on You" and '64 chanson "Mon Amie La Rose" with exotic Arabic touches. Opener "Leysh Nat' Arak" is an effortless mix of Bellydance, Bollywood and electronica. A new version of a previously released song, it appears here a total of 3 times, the other two versions (TJ Rehmi remix & 2005 dub mix) closer to techno/dance music. "Eye Of The Duck" brings together ragga, hip hop and Bollywood elements, while the rest of the tracks are an equally successful mix of bellydance and electronica, mostly sung in Arabic. Unfortunately, much as I enjoy Atlas' sensual delivery, I'm not partial to either of those styles and i found the repeated listens while writing this piece rather tiring. At least this compilation alternates these with the pop covers, making for a good introduction for the uninitiated as well as a boon for older fans who will probably appreciate the fact that many of the tracks appearing in this greatest hits compilation are remixes or alternate versions of older songs, rendering it simultaneously a retrospective and a new entrance to her discography.
**** for Leysh Nat' Arak, Mon Amie La Rose, I Put a Spell on You, (It's a Man's Man's) Man's World, Amulet
*** for Eye of the Duck, Ezzay, You Only Live Twice, Kidda, Le Printemps, Moustahil (live,hidden track)
** for Fakrenha, Mistaneek, Leysh Nat' Arak (TJ Rehmi remix), Yalla Chant, Fun Does Not Exist, Leysh Nat' Arak (2005 dub mix)
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