”(Atlas) has so many Middle Eastern strains running through her veins she's...a walking Mesopotamia.”
–San Francisco Chronicle

An icon of Middle Eastern music, Natacha Atlas is a riveting singer, belly dancer, and cultural assimilator. Known for her work with the globetrotting Transglobal Underground and Jah Wobble, Atlas turns to the acoustic roots of Arabic music on the recent Al Hina (World Village) called the “most satisfying album of her career” (The Times, UK) Oud master Rahim Alhaj endured years in Saddam Hussain’s Iraq before escaping to Jordan. The Albuquerque, NM resident performs with percussionist Souhail Kaspar on the heels of a Grammy nomination and a new album, Home Again.

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An icon of Middle Eastern music, Natacha Atlas is a riveting singer, belly dancer, and cultural assimilator. Known for her work with Jah Wobble and the globetrotting Transglobal Underground, Atlas turns to the acoustic roots of Arabic music on her recent album Al Hina (World Village). A one-woman multicultural wave, Atlas expresses her complex identity with an embracing musical vision. Born in Brussels to a father of Moroccan, Egyptian, Sephardic Jewish and Palestinian ancestry and a British mother who converted to Islam, Atlas grew up speaking Arabic, French, English, and Spanish (all of which she has used in her music). Strongly identified with Egyptian culture, she often includes verses from the Quran in her lyrics. Politically, she’s an outspoken proponent of co-existence who has often called for peace and understanding between Muslims and Jews.

Since fleeing his native Iraq in 1991 with Saddam Hussein’s henchmen hot on his trail, oud master Rahim Alhaj has sought to give voice to the plight of the Iraqi people. Now based in Albuquerque, the conservatory-trained composer is a skilled improviser who has collaborated with jazz musicians such as guitarist Bill Frisell. He’s also toured widely with a string quartet, and has developed a body of music that he plays with symphony orchestras. His original compositions are pointillist soundscapes designed to capture specific situations, moods and locales in his homeland. Alhaj performs tonight with Grammy-nominated percussionist Souhail Kaspar, his guest on the recent album Home Again.

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