Natcha Atlas Something Dangerous
Atlas has been floating around the world beat and electronic music scenes for a hot […]
Atlas has been floating around the world beat and electronic music scenes for a hot minute or two. Over the years, she’s had a lot to do with the spread of the diasporan dub sound as the featured singer in Transglobal Underground, on her own solo work, and in collaborations with everyone from Jah Wobble to Jean-Michel Jarre. She’s a superstar in the Arab world, France and in parts of Europe, but how would Atlas-she of the lotus-like voice-handle a cover version of James Brown’s “Man’s World”? By putting her own spin on it, thank you very much. Mixing Jamaican and American inflections with Moroccan melodies, or layering Middle-Eastern cadences over classical orchestra movements, Something Dangerous, Atlas’s fifth solo album, is all over the map (which should be expected by now). It is also, for the most part, very good, even if it has more vocals in English than any previous Atlas album. But then, Natacha’s pipes would sound impressive in any language.