Sharing a birthday, as she does, with a whole host of randomly-assorted notables such as much-missed "national treasure" Dame Vera Lynn, the simply faboo Ultra Naté, the Roman poet Ovid, William Hurt, Henrik Ibsen, Holly Hunter, Sir Michael Redgrave, Hal Linden, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Theresa Russell, Paul Junger Witt, Carl Reiner, Spike Lee, David Thewlis and Sister Rosetta Tharpe...
... the sublime Miss Natacha Atlas is 60 years old today!!
A longtime favourite singer here at Dolores Delargo Towers - we have three of her albums in our vast collection, including the marvellous Ayeshteni as pictured above - Miss Atlas was born in Brussels to a British mother and Egyptian father, and hers was a bit of an esoteric "hippy" upbringing by all accounts (despite being brought up in less-than-exotic Northampton in the East Midlands). It was almost inevitable that she would end up in the entertainment industry, taking up belly-dancing and eventually becoming the core singer of the arthouse fusion music group Transglobal Underground - whose blend of techno and house with less familiar Asian, Arabic and African rhythms hit the zeitgeist of the late 90s amid a rise in popularity of "World Music".
She is probably most familiar to a wider audience for her collaboration with David Arnold on his Shaken and Stirred James Bond theme covers project, to which she contributed this:
Here's another couplet of familiar tunes of hers [I have featured both here before, bien sûr]:
This one is a perfect example of the "fusion music" style of Transgobal Underground (who produced it for Natacha's solo debut album Diaspora):
A fitting one for today, the Spring Equinox [it's all uphill from here, folks, as the days officially become longer than the nights!]:
And to finish, a bit of high camp...
Makes me want to whop me tablah out and get shimmying... Lord knows, I've got the belly for it!
Many happy returns, Natacha Atlas (born 20th March 1964)
My maid of all work, Carmen, has a look of Rosa Klebb.
ReplyDeleteThe pointy shoes are useful for getting grime out of those hard-to-reach places like under the fridge, I bet! Jx
DeleteI just climaxed!!!!!!!!!!!!! I NEED that turban and fabu caftan.!!!!! She is utterly exotic and stunning!
ReplyDeleteI thought of you as soon as I saw that fashion shoot 😍! Jx
DeleteI was very impressed with the cover of Put a Spell on You and the visuals in It's a Man's World, But I'm mainly stricken with envy over that turquoise caftan.
ReplyDeleteHa! She does look rather stunning - and in in the turquoise peignoir, too... Jx
DeleteShe has a good voice, and should be more widely known. She's still young, she still has time!
ReplyDeleteSx
There are so many genuinely superb singers who never get a look in, while the likes of Ariana Grande squawk their way to the top - I can never understand why, for example, the remarkable Monica Naranjo has never had the attention she deserves, either. Jx
DeleteI have just spent a most enjoyable half hour or so listening to the lovely Ms Atlas (when I should have been outside in the garden), thank you Jon!
ReplyDeleteP.S. As the turquoise kaftan has already been nabbed, I'll take the feather boa from the last video, please.
Oh, I am pleased! Another birthday prezzie! I'll pop down to Soho tomorrow to see if anyone has those boas in stock and let you know... Jx
DeleteFab collection of Natacha Atlas videos,
ReplyDeleteShe grew up in Northampton !!! Doesn't seem possible !
She is a human cocktail and I adore her.
She certainly transcended her ostensibly humble beginnings! Jx
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