Reviewed by Jordan Elgrably

Natacha Atlas: live at the Skirball July 29, 2010In a mellifluous voice that was at once deep, soft, beautiful and strong, former Transglobal Underground vocalist Natacha Atlas brought her east-west repertoire back to Los Angeles on July 29. The cross-over artist performed in a free open-air concert at the Skirball Center that was supported by the L.A. County Arts Commission and the city's Department of Cultural Affairs. A star in parts of Europe and the Middle East, Natacha Atlas has a smaller following Stateside but certainly merits a broader audience, both among those who love world music and fusion, and others with a passion for female vocalists.
If you rate singers according to their devotion, Atlas is among the greats.
Speaking conspiratorially to an audience that was clearly jammed with Atlas aficionados, the diminutive singer presented a dozen songs, accompanied by her music director (and beau) Samy Bishai on violin, as well as Alcyona Mick on piano, Peggy Baldwin on cello, Aly El Minyawi on percussion and Andy Hamill on bass and harmonica. Briefly introduced by world music deejay Tom Schnabel from KCRW, who has been a longtime champion of Atlas' unique Arab-electronica fusion (with roots in jazz and classical Egyptian/Lebanese ballads) Atlas sang with restrained pathos. A number of her pieces were Fairuz-inspired love songs in Arabic, but she also sang two smoky numbers in English—including a haunting rendition of a Nina Simone classic "Black is the Color (Of My True Love's Hair)".

Certainly her pianist Alcyona Mick rocked the stage, as did her cousin, doumbek player Aly El Minwayi, who offered up a playful, rousing solo that was among the best I've heard.

One somber note came in her rendition of "Mon Amie La Rose," a dark yet lush French ballad offered in remembrance of her bassist's friend who had just died.

Natacha Atlas ana hinaSeveral numbers from her latest recording, Ana Hina (I Am Here) struck a chord, though diehard fans called out repeatedly for "Something Dangerous," a hit from the eponymous album published in 2005. Atlas was not taking requests.

Atlas also sang a wedding song and an anti-war number. Much of the evening consisted of wistful tunes; but despite the downbeats and mellow vibe, people got up to dance in the aisles.

Atlas considers herself a cultural commuter or wanderer, both musically and geographically, and we should too (she famously referred to herself as "a human Gaza strip"). As she notes in her bio, she fuses "electronic beats with North African and Arabic music, finding links between seemingly disparate music genres, and exploring new and different sonic settings." There is often a feeling of cabaret jazz in her phrasing, whether she's singing in Arabic, English or French. At times there are undertones of hip hop.

Born in Belgium, Natacha Atlas is the daughter of a neurology lecturer of Egyptian descent who was born in Jerusalem, and a British mother who was a costume designer; she grew up in a Moroccan suburb of Brussels, where she became fluent in French, Arabic, Spanish and English while studying singing and raqs sharki (belly dancing). "I just loved the Fairuz style of music because it was a fusion," she has said. "The Rahbanis [Fairuz's songwriters] had studied both Western and Arabic music and were fusing them way before I was born. It just made sense to me."

There is a suggestion that Atlas has some Sephardic heritage though this remains unclear. The singer confirms, however, that, "Jews have always been part of Arab society, so it's not so unusual for someone to find out that they have Jewish blood. At the end of the day, we really are so connected."

Atlas sang for several years with the London-based multicultural collective, Transglobal Underground. She released her debut album Diaspora in 1995. She followed it with Halim in '97 and a breakthrough album, Gedida, in '99. Her Arabic-style version of "Mon Amie La Rose" subsequently hit the Top Ten in France and won Atlas the Best Female Singer award at the French Victoire de la Musique awards. Her fourth album, Ayeshteni, appeared in 2001. In 2006 she released the rootsy Mish Maoul, which delved deeply into her Egyptian roots. She released Ana Hina in 2008.

Atlas has said that she would love to conquer Egyptian hearts—to make music that will earn her a place in the pantheon of great classical singers.

It will come as no surprise that Natacha Atlas strives to build bridges as an artist. For years she's been a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations, and in 2008 she sang duets with Israeli Sephardic vocalist Yasmin Levy. Their friendship led Atlas to speak frankly about the political gulf that sometimes exists between Arabs and Jews, in an article published in Abu Dhabi newspaper, The National (click here for additional commentary on the issue).

Natacha Atlas' new album, Mounqaliba ("State of Reversal"), comes out in September from Six Degrees. Watch for a review of it here.

Jordan Elgrably is a writer in Los Angeles.