i came in contact with natacha atlas' music like most, through compilations and it was her voice that just did it for me. the production by the transglobal underground family was not completely lost on me but she had an amazing voice. it's a voice that sounds like if nancy ajram didn't sound so girly.
note that this is when she sings in arabic, which she does mostly but she does sing in english and it just sounds wrong. the big paradox is that atlas' isn't someone straight out egypt but someone with arabic parents and apparently someone who speaks her english with a strong london accent.
"moustahil" isn't one of those track but the second track on her second album 'halim' (named in honour of abdel halim hafez). in her concert routine this track is usually used with atlas doing her finest bellydancing in mind. the groove is quite perfect for that and it's a good interpretation of a modern arabic dance song without the over-use of western influences.
structurally it's quite in line with the traditional arabic songs & aesthetics that atlas' was trying to do. strong groove, vibrant drums, heavy use of keys and by keys i mean those very resonant synth patches prominent in music from the region.
he most apparent is the vocal arrangement which always have the main singer singing a verse or a hook and it's always repeated directly by backup-singers. a lot of times the main singer will be prominent on on the last parts of the repeat to add a vocal fill.
the structure also is have the symbiotic nature between vocal and instrumental part, especially in upbeat songs or songs obviously meant for dancing. since this music was built from a live setting and later transferred onto recording, singers know that they sometimes will take a backseat role for the groove.
as i mentioned since this is a very danceable song, in concert, atlas' has the band jam on sections and move her hips to everyone's delight. all the versions i've heard from concerts has been better than the album version but i still rate it high. it builds so much in it's first part and you have that two note bass groove just getting more intense along the way.
right after the instrumental middle eight, there is a drum fill and an "oh vocal stab" and then the track kicks in a slightly higher gear. the bass is very resonant and the tempo keeps getting faster and the keys and flute seem to fight over who can outdo each other. this chaotic coda gets more frantic and right at the peak, song ends.
she does the same structure live but while the album version goes up a few bpms it goes into double time in the span of thirty seconds or so. awesome really.
buy here (junodownload)
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