Natacha Atlas Gedida CD

Natacha Atlas' third album greatly expands upon the promise of her earlier work -- on Gedida, her fusion of Arabic musical traditions and contemporary dance beats really jells, eliminating the more gimmicky dimensions of earlier records to strike a fascinating balance between old and new. While tracks like "Kifaya" and "Ezzay" magnify the cinematic aspirations of past efforts, Gedida also takes a number of fascinating left turns -- a cover of Françoise Hardy's "Mon Amie la Rose" is hauntingly beautiful, while on the closing "One Brief Moment" Atlas delivers her first English-language vocal. ~ Raymond McKinney

3rd Solo;She's W/Transglobal Underground;Arabic W/Dance Mus

Engineers include: Yasser Hessein, David White, Steve Orchard.

Personnel includes: Natacha Atlas (vocals); Tim Whelan (guitar, keyoards); Keith Clouston (oud); Hamid Mantu (organ, keyboards, drums); Adam Blake (bass); Tim Garsaiddi (percussion); DJ Awe (DJ); Ali Slimani (background vocals).

Producers: Transglobal Underground, David Arnold.

Spin (5/99, p.149) - "...Top international props go to Belgio-Moroccan diva Natacha Atlas, stealthing her hypothetical political lyrical miracle whip under sexy navel-shaking beats galore..."
Q (4/99, p.94) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...buoyed by her devotional calling and the chatter of programmed beats, she swoops, glides and goes reaching for the heavens in a way that needs no translation..."
The Wire (3/99, p.54) - "...attempts an Arabic/Asian crossover, atop dance and dub rhythms, while tablas and ouds carve out Bollywood-like soundtracks for couples playing peek-a-boo amid the trees..."
Dirty Linen (12/99-1/00, p.63) - "...she moves the genre of dance-pop into new sonic territory. Her sexually charged vocals run the gamut from a sinuously airy chanteuse sound to a hard-edged rap....In Atlas' world, religious fervor and sexual tension go hand and hand....GEDIDA is a voluptuous work."
Mojo (Publisher) (3/99, p.97) - "...Two thumbs up."