Name	Gedida
Type	Album
Artist	Natacha Atlas
Cover	Gedida atlas.jpg
Released	March 9, 1999
Genre	Electronica, World music
Label	Mantra
Producer	Transglobal Underground, David Arnold
Last album	Halim (1997)
This album	Gedida (1999)
Next album	The Remix Collection (2000)

Gedida (new in Arabic) is the third album by Belgian singer Natacha Atlas. It was released by Mantra Records on March 9, 1999. In the Middle East the album was released under the title Guzouri with an alternate track listing.

Track listing

# "Mon Amie La Rose" - 4:47 # "Aqaba" - 4:37 # "Mistaneek" - 4:15^[1] # "Bahlam" - 4:32 # "Ezzay" - 5:18 # "Bastet" - 6:17 # "The Righteous Path" - 6:48 # "Mahlabeya" - 3:29 # "Bilaadi" - 6:18 # "Kifaya" - 8:59 # "One Brief Moment" - 5:27

Middle Eastern edition # "Aqaba" - 4:37 # "Mistaneek" - 4:15 # "Bahlam" - 4:32 # "Ezzay" - 5:18 # "Kifaya" - 8:59 # "Mon Amie La Rose" - 4:46 # "Bilaadi" - 5:49 # "One Brief Moment" - 5:30 # "Feres" - 7:37

Charts

{|class="wikitable" ! Charts (1999) ! Peakposition |- |French Albums Chart |align="center"| 19 |- |Norwegian Albums Chart |align="center"| 37 |- |}

References

External links

Official website

Category:1999 albums Category:Beggars Banquet Records albums Category:Electronic albums Category:Natacha Atlas albums

Name	Natacha Atlas
Background	solo_singer
Born	March 20, 1969
Origin	Brussels, Belgium
Genre	World music, Arabic pop music, Ethnic electronica
Occupation	Singer, songwriter
Years active	1991–present
Label	Nation Records (1993–1997), Mantra Records (1998–2006) , Harmonia Mundi, Six Degrees Records
Associated acts	Mandanga, Transglobal Underground, Jah Wobble

Natacha Atlas (; born 20 March 1969) is a Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic and Western electronic music, particularly hip-hop. She once termed her music "cha'abi moderne" (modern popular music). Her music has been influenced by many styles including Arabic, hip hop, drum 'n' bass and reggae.

Early life

Atlas was born to a father of Moroccan, Egyptian, and Palestinian ancestry who was born in Jerusalem and a British mother who had converted to Islam. Her paternal grandfather was born in Egypt, but grew up in Palestine, immigrating to Europe at age 15. She concedes to being "maybe 10 percent Jewish or something." Atlas says the claim that her father is purely Jewish and not Arab is "one of those things where someone had a grudge against me and wanted to hurt me. My grand-grand-grandfather was Jewish. But Jews have always been part of Arab society, so it’s not so unusual for someone to find out that they have Jewish blood. At the end of the day, we really are so connected."

Atlas grew up in Laken, a Moroccan suburb of Brussels, Belgium, After her parents separated, Atlas went to live in Northampton, England with her mother. Atlas learned several languages, including Arabic, French, English, and Spanish, and has used them all in the course of her career.

Early career and Transglobal Underground

Atlas returned to Belgium at age twenty four and began her career with two jobs as a belly dancer and the lead singer of a Belgian salsa band. In 1991, she recorded the track "Timbal" with Balearic Beat on the album ¡Loca!. Atlas also worked with Jah Wobble composing five tracks for the LP Rising above Bedlam. Through the recording of ¡Loca!, Atlas met British labelmates Transglobal Underground (TGU), who at the time had a Top 40 hit, "Templehead". She became the lead singer and belly dancer for the group, which focused on mixing Eastern and Western sounds as well as other styles.

Solo career

Most of Atlas' albums have been produced by TGU. She continues to focus on her Middle Eastern roots, as the titles of her albums imply: 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 James Bond theme song from the film You Only Live Twice. Two years earlier, Atlas had 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).

2000 saw her collaborate with Jean Michel Jarre for the track "C'est La Vie" on his album Metamorphoses. The track was released as a single.

Due to her French-language tracks, Atlas is now quite popular in France. In the U.K., on the other hand, she has not experienced the same amount of success. She is not very happy about the way her music is perceived in the UK: "Someone from the New Music Express rang us about a feature we're to do with them and said 'We don't want it to be about the multi-cultural angle'. In other words that fad is over. And I'm personally insulted... what other... angle is there for us? I get sick of it all."

In 2005, Atlas 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 on Radio del Mundo. Additionally, her song "Bathaddak" is one of the songs included in the 2007 Xbox 360 exclusive video game Project Gotham Racing 4.

Atlas was originally billed to star in and provide the soundtrack to the film Whatever Lola Wants, directed by Nabil Ayouch. However, shooting delays caused Atlas to only be involved in the film's soundtrack. Her song "Gafsa" (Halim, 1997) was used as the main soundtrack during the Korean film Bin-Jip (also known as 3-Iron) (2004) by Kim Ki-Duk. She participated in the piece "Light of Life (Ibelin Reprise)" for the soundtrack of Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven.

In 2007, Atlas collaborated with Belinda Carlisle for Belinda'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.

On 20 September 2010 Atlas released her newest album, Mounqaliba. Co-produced by Samy Bishai, it explores the more classical world. It is inspired by the poems of Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Personal life

In 1999, Atlas married Syrian kanun player Abdullah Chhadeh. The couple divorced in 2005. Atlas is now in a relationship with British Egyptian violinist Samy Bishai. She is, however, open to other forms of spirituality because "it's important to be tolerant".

In 2001, she was appointed by Mary Robinson as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Conference Against Racism. Robinson chose Atlas because "she embodies the message that there is a strength in diversity. That our differences – be they ethnic, racial or religious – are a source of riches to be embraced rather than feared".

Music themes

Atlas uses her multi-ethnic background when singing lyrics that often are intertwined with phrases from the Quran. She personally calls herself a "human Gaza Strip", reflecting her diverse Judaeo-Islamic background and thoughts relating to the Muslim and Jewish world.

Discography

Studio albums

1995: Diaspora

1997: Halim

1999: Gedida

2001: Ayeshteni

2002: Foretold in the Language of Dreams (with Marc Eagleton)

2003: Something Dangerous

2006: Mish Maoul

2008: Ana Hina

2010: Mounqaliba

Compilation albums

2000: The Remix Collection

2005: The Best of Natacha Atlas

DVD

2005: Transglobal Underground

2009: The Pop Rose of Cairo

See also

List of Natacha Atlas collaborations

World music

Arabic pop music

Yasmin Levy

References

External links

MantraRecordings.com

Beggars.com

Category:1964 births Category:Arabic-language singers Category:Belgian female singers Category:Belgian Muslims Category:English-language singers Category:French-language singers Category:Living people Category:Natacha Atlas Category:People of Jewish descent

Name	Transglobal Underground
Background	group_or_band
Alias	TGU
Origin	London, Englandbut featuring members of many nationalities
Genre	World fusion musicEthnic electronica
Years active	1990-
Label	Nation Records
Url	http://www.t-g-u.com/
Current members	Tim Whelan, Hamid Man Tu (Formerly Hamilton Lee)
Past members	Natacha AtlasJohnny Kalsimany others (see text)

Transglobal Underground (sometimes written as Trans-Global Underground or simply as TGU) is a London-based music collective who specialise in a fusion of western, oriental and African music styles (sometimes labelled as "world fusion" or "ethno-techno"). Their first four albums featured Natacha Atlas as lead singer and their single "Temple Head" was used in a Coca-Cola advertising campaign for the 1996 Olympic Games. In 2008 they won the BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music after the release of their seventh official album, Moonshout. Their next release has been announced as a side project entitled 'A Gathering of Strangers' to be released under the name U.N.I.T.E.

Membership and pseudonyms

Although Transglobal Underground has always had a fairly fluid line-up, the two core members of the group are "Alex Kasiek" (keyboards, guitar, flute, melodica, programming, vocals) and "Hamid Mantu" (also known as "Man Tu" or "Chris Hamilton" - percussion, drums, keyboards, programming). These are the pseudonyms (respectively) of Tim Whelan and Hamilton Lee.

Musical collaborators since their schooldays, Whelan and Lee were previously both founding members of British pop band Furniture and had played with the experimental psychedelic art-punk group The Transmitters. They had also worked together as part of the Flavel Bambi Septet (an Ealing-based world music band with a shifting lineup including other Transmitters members and future TGU member Natacha Atlas). While with Furniture, both musicians had already demonstrated an interest in world music by bringing in more culturally-diverse instrumentation to what was originally a fairly conventional rock band line up (Lee had played tongue drums and other percussion in addition to his standard drumkit, while Whelan had supplemented his guitar playing with extensive use of the Chinese yangqin zither).

Throughout TGU's history, Whelan and Lee have deliberately clouded their identities via multiple pseudonyms and obscure credits. Whelan has also used his "Alex Kasiek" pseudonym outside TGU work, sometimes combining it with his real name - as he did for his guest appearance on the 2002 Project Dark album Gramophone De Luxe. (For the purposes of this article, Whelan and Lee will be referred to by their main pseudonyms of Alex Kasiek and Hamid Mantu.)

Other musicians who have been long-time TGU members or associates include:

Natacha Atlas (vocals)

Count Dubulah (real name Nick Page - bass, sampler)

Neil Sparkes (percussion)

Johnny Kalsi (dhol)

Coleridge (rapping)

Gurjit Sihra (Dhol)

TUUP (an acronym for "The Unorthodox Unprecedented Preacher", real name Godfrey Duncan - vocals, percussion)

Sheema Mukherjee (sitar)

Larry Whelan (saxophone, clarinet, ney, shenai, string arrangements)

Artists who have made guest appearances on TGU albums include:

Aki Nawaz (of Fun Da Mental)

Heitham Al-Sayed (of Senser)

British alternative jazz guitarist Billy Jenkins

Amanda de Grey (former Transmitters keyboard player)

Bulgarian harmony singing group Trio Bulgarka

Transglobal Underground tracks have been remixed by Dreadzone, Lionrock and Youth and they in turn have remixed tracks for Warsaw Village Band, Banco de Gaia, Fun-Da-Mental, Transjoik, Pop Will Eat Itself and Tragic Roundabout.

Biography

Transglobal Underground was formed by Kasiek, Mantu and Dubulah. The first recording by the group was the single "Temple Head" which was shopped around various labels before eventually being released by Nation Records in 1991. Although not a major hit, it was named "Single of the Week" in Melody Maker a publication that frequently reviewed and promoted the group, and heavily featured at clubs such as Whirl-Y-Gig. which eventually saw the light of day on the Nation label in 1994 as Dream of 100 Nations. This album marked the group debut of Natacha Atlas, formerly best known for her work with Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart, with percussionist Neil Sparkes joining at around the same time. TGU developed a reputation for flamboyant live performances featuring dramatic costumes, belly dancing, endless percussion and members of the group disguised as Nepalese Temple guardians.

TGU released their second album International Times, later in 1994. This was followed in 1995 by the remix album Interplanetary Meltdown (with contributions from Dreadzone, Lionrock and Youth amongst others) aimed squarely at commercial club play.

After a number of tours around Europe and 1997 (and the Psychic Karaoke album), Dubulah and Sparkes left to form Temple Of Sound. A new TGU line-up emerged in 1998 with the album Rejoice Rejoice partly recorded in Hungary and featuring a number of Hungarian gypsy musicians, plus percussionist Johnny Kalsi from the Dhol Foundation. The group toured Europe supporting Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. Atlas then left the group to concentrate on her burgeoning solo career, with which Kasiek and Mantu were already heavily involved as producers.

Transglobal Underground subsequently also parted company with Nation Records (who released a compilation album, 1991-1998: Backpacking On The Graves Of Our Ancestors, in 1999).

In 2001 Transglobal Underground released the album Yes Boss Food Corner on Mondo Rhythmica (part of the Ark 21 label),featuring Zulu vocalist Thobekile Doreen Webster (with whom Mantu and Kasiek still work as producers). The seven-piece line-up of this period (including British-born Asian musicians sitarist Sheema Mukherjee and percussionist Gurjit Sihra) played all over the world and toured the USA twice.

After the demise of Ark21, Transglobal Underground spent some time working in Egypt, notably with Egyptian vocalist Hakim. On their return they set up their own Mule Satellite label for their 2005 album Impossible Broadcasting. For the next tour, the live band (now stripped down to a five-piece and with, once more, a more club-based line-up) started playing the UK regularly for the first time in more than six years, turning up regularly at festivals and venues throughout the country.

A flurry of studio activity in 2007 resulted in a collaboration with Real World act The Imagined Village (which won a Radio 2 Folk Award), another remix album (Impossible Re-Broadcasts), the release of the seventh Transglobal Underground album (the Radio-3-award-winning Moonshout) and the soundtrack to the film Whatever Lola Wants. The latter two projects were collaborations with Natacha Atlas, who had returned to closer work with the core band.

In 2009, Nascente Records released a double CD compilation of the groups entire history to date, under the title 'Run Devils and Demons.'

Towards the end of 2009 Transglobal Underground took a break from their live schedule to work on a new project which was released in May 2010 as an album entitled 'A Gathering of Strangers' under the name U.N.I.T.E. (an acronym of Urban Native Integrated Traditions of Europe). Drawing traditional sources from all across Europe, the album contains performances by artists from the UK, Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Hungary, France and Denmark. Amongst the featured vocalists are Yanka Rupkina, Stuart A Staples of Tindersticks, Jim Moray, and Martin Furey of the High Kings.

Discography

Albums

Bold numbers indicate peak positions on the Official UK Albums Chart

Dream of 100 Nations, 1993, 45

International Times, 1994, 40

Psychic Karaoke, 1996, 62

Rejoice Rejoice, 1998

Yes Boss Food Corner, 2001

Impossible Broadcasting, 2004

Moonshout, 2007

Compilation/Remix Albums

Interplanetary Meltdown, 1995 (remix album)

Backpacking On The Graves Of Our Ancestors, 1999 (greatest hits album with some new tracks and mixes)

Impossible Re-Broadcasting, 2007 (remix album)

Run Devils and Demons, 2009 (2 CD compilation of TGU's career)

DVD

Trans-Global Underground: A film by Guillaume Dero 2008 ''(documentary and live recording) ed. lahuit.com

References

Sources

TGU discography at global-trance.co.uk

[ TGU] at allmusic.com

TGU at discogs.com

External links

Last.FM: Transglobal Underground group

Official Website

TGU Chat Forum

Website of U.N.I.T.E. project

Category:Musical groups from London Category:Asian Underground musicians Category:British world music groups