Natacha Atlas
Ayeshteni
Critiques sur l'album
Label : Beggars Banquet (USA)
Date de diffusion : 2001
Critiques sur l'album
Truly a citizen of the world, Natacha Atlas creates music that is a heady melange of European, North African and Middle Eastern elements. On Ayeshteni, motion and emotion establish a common ground where contemporary electronic dance rhythms dovetail elegantly with traditional Middle Eastern syncopation, instrumentation and Atlas's lilting, trilling vocals. "Fakrenha" is a glowing, swaying torch song embellished with piano, percussion and string flourishes; suave and driving, "Soleil D'Egypt" is reminiscent of Duran Duran at the height of its synth-pop power. Atlas gives Screamin' Jay Hawkins's "I Put a Spell on You" an exotic twist, translating the stark voodoo of the original into a mystical incantation. The heart of Jaques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas" beats in French, but this version translates wistful accordion into pungent strings and saunters with a serpentine groove. Even if you don't understand Arabic, French or English, the spirit of these songs speaks loud and clear. (SANDY MASUO - May 7, 2001)