World-class singer Natacha Atlas will make a very rare appearance at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on November 9th, as well as perform at the San Francisco Jazz Festival on November 6th.
Natacha Atlas has been on tour to promote her new CD, Ana Hina. Touring with her new band, the Mazeeka Ensemble, Natacha sings traditional Arabic music that has a modern dance groove to each song. The success of Ana Hina has brought out her existing fans around the world, as well as opened a whole new market with her new sound.
LAsThePlace.com caught up with this international super-star to get the first hand look inside her new CD and tour.
LA’s the Place: Congratulations on the success of ‘Ana Hina.’ Is this new CD a turning point in your career, where you are shifting directions towards a different market, or was this just a more traditional CD you always wanted to do?
Natacha Atlas: Thanks very much. The album is something that was born out of some live shows I was doing with my acoustic line-up. I have always been inspired by Fairuz and Abdel Halim Hafiz and thought that this could be a way to honor them. Classical Arabic music has always be important to me and I suppose it was something I always wanted to do and so pleased I had the opportunity to do so. It is not necessarily a change of direction as I am currently working on my next ‘electric’ album, but I think it is possible for both projects to exist side by side and hopefully for my fans to love both projects!
LATP: You worked with many different musicians on this CD than on previous ones, yet your voice seemed to blend as if you have played with them for years. How did you adjust to these musicians and the different, more acoustic style of music?
Natacha: This is not something I analyze, I just get on with it and either it works or it doesn’t. Generally speaking, if I have any rapport with the musicians I meet then it usually follows we can work together.
LATP: ‘Hayati Inta’ has an amazing groove that differs from your previous recording. Who decided to structure it like this and how do you like the new arrangement?
Natacha: My MD, Harvey Brough, had the idea for the groove but it all happened quite organically through jamming and playing together…and Harvey had the idea that the Fender Rhodes would be better than the piano. What I personally like about it is that with Gamal, the accordion player, it crosses into a Sudanese/ Nubian style which is linked to Egypt once again.
LATP: Do you have any plans of giving your U.S. fans a glimmer of the new Natacha Atlas this year?
Natacha: Yes we have some USA dates coming up. November 6th at the San Francisco jazz Festival and November 9th at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles……just waiting on the East Coast dates to confirm. Really excited about touring in the States again as they are such appreciative audiences.
LATP: What are your plans after you complete this current tour?
Natacha: Well I have to finish writing and recording the next electric album…there are other recording projects in pipeline also which involve the Indian market.
LATP: Have you done any videos for any songs on this CD?
Natacha: No, not as yet, though would love to!
LATP: The song ‘El Nowm’ seems to have that same eerie, yet paralyzing, mood that was throughout your CD with Marc Eagleton ‘Foretold in the Language of Dreams.’ Do you see yourself doing another CD in the future with this very deep spiritual feel?
Natacha: Absolutely…I loved El Nowm for that reason. It was quite inspired by Ziad Moltaka and his concert/album "Anashid’ – also very eerie and etheric but that side of my nature can be quite introvert and dark and I think it can produce some interesting stuff occasionally, although wholeheartedly non-commercial.
LATP: Your manager Lisa Richards will be setting up an office here in Los Angeles. Can this move help penetrate a very large U.S. market?
Natacha: Inshallah!!!
LATP: There still seems to be a lot of raw footage showing up on YouTube.com of your various performances. Have you considered uploading high quality content to combat the raw ‘cell phone’ footage?
Natacha: I get quite disturbed at the raw stuff I see on YouTube and would love for some of what I consider to be my embarrassing moments removed from public view. I am not a technically pc media savvy person so I wouldn’t know how to upload high quality content, but would welcome anyone who would like to do that for me!
LATP: When I researched the amount of searches ‘Natacha Atlas’ gets on Google, Yahoo, MSN and YouTube it was deep in the thousands. Have you seen growth in your record sales, as well as an increase in ticket sales because of the Internet?
Natacha: Eerrrrrrrm…. haven’t made that link yet, but I hope that is the case….then all those embarrassing moments may have had been worthwhile eh!!??
