Natacha Atlas (Egyptian-Belgian singer, Transglobal Underground, JM Jarre, Peter Gabriel).

This is my conversation with Natacha Atlas. It took place in July 2024 from her home in France.
Natacha Atlas is an Egyptian-Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic and Western music, particularly hip-hop. She once termed her music "cha'abi moderne" (modern folk music). Her music has been influenced by many styles including Maghrebain, hip hop, drum and bass and reggae.
Atlas began her career as part of the world fusion group Transglobal Underground. In 1995, she began to focus on her solo career with the release of Diaspora. She has since released seven solo albums and been a part of numerous collaborations. Her version of "Mon amie la rose" became a surprise success in France, reaching 16 on the French Singles Charts in 1999.
Atlas returned to Belgium at age 24 and began her career with two jobs: belly dancing and being the lead singer of a Belgian salsa band. In April 1989, she made her recording début as guest vocalist on Balearic beat-band ¡Loca!'s "Encantador" (Nation Records).
Most of Atlas' earlier albums were produced by Tim Whelan and Hamilton Lee from Transglobal Underground. These albums include Diaspora (1995), Halim (1997) (in honour of Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez), Gedida (1998), and Ayeshteni (2001).
In 1999, Atlas collaborated with David Arnold on the song "One Brief Moment". The single featured a cover version of the theme song from the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. Two years earlier, Atlas collaborated with Arnold on the album Shaken and Stirred, recording the song "From Russia with Love" for the eponymous film (originally performed by Matt Monro).
Also in 1999, she collaborated with Jean-Michel Jarre for the track "C'est La Vie" on his album Métamorphoses. The track was released as a single.
In 2003, Atlas provided vocals for the Kolo folk dance song "'Ajde Jano" on Nigel Kennedy and Kroke's album, East Meets East. In 2005, she contributed the song "Just Like A Dream" (from Something Dangerous) to the charity album Voyces United for UNHCR.
Her music has been used in a number of soundtracks. Her song "Kidda" was featured on the Sex and the City 2 soundtrack and in the 2005 video game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories on Radio del Mundo. In 2003, her voice can be heard in the film Hulk on the song "Captured". Additionally, her song "Bathaddak" is one of the songs included in the 2007 Xbox 360 video game Project Gotham Racing 4. Her cover of I Put a Spell on You was used in the 2002 film Divine Intervention by Palestinian director Elia Suleiman.
In 2007, Atlas collaborated with Belinda Carlisle for Carlisle's seventh album Voila. She contributed additional vocals on songs "Ma Jeunesse Fout Le Camp," "La Vie En Rose", "Bonnie et Clyde" and "Des Ronds Dans L'Eau." Voila was released via Rykodisc in the U.K. on 5 February 2007 and in the U.S. the following day.
The 2007 film Brick Lane features four songs with vocals by Atlas, "Adam's Lullaby", "Running Through the Night", "Love Blossoms" and "Rite of Passage". On 23 May 2008 Atlas released a new album, Ana Hina, which was well received by critics.
In 2008, two of Atlas' songs, "Kidda" and "Ghanwa Bossanova", were used in Shamim Sarif's romantic comedy about two women, I Can't Think Straight. In 2008, she sang lead in the song "Habibe" from Peter Gabriel's long-awaited album and project, Big Blue Ball. On 20 September 2010 Atlas released Mounqaliba. Co-produced by Samy Bishai, it explored classical instrumentation, jazz and traditional Arabic styles and was inspired by the poems of Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore.
In May 2013, Natacha Atlas released Expressions: Live in Toulouse, an album which showcased her expressive voice using largely orchestral arrangements augmented by Middle Eastern percussion.
Atlas moved into the jazz genre with the albums Myriad Road (2015), which was produced by French Lebanese musician Ibrahim Maalouf, and Strange Days (2019).