Egypt News

The resulting body of work is both a triumph of true multiculturalism and a testament to the richness and accessibility of Arabic culture.

Presiding over it all is Atlas’s extraordinary voice which bridges Middle Eastern and Western styles.

Her new album Ana Hina is a contemporary classical affair. A throwback to Arabic music’s golden era of the late 1950s and 60s, to the sounds and idols that shaped Atlas’s youth, this is an album that looks to the past while imagining the future, buoyed by some of the best classical and traditional musicians working today.

The daughter of a neurology lecturer of Egyptian descent and an English (occasional) costume designer, Atlas was born in Belgium and grew up in a Moroccan suburb of Brussels, studying singing and the raq sharki (belly dancing) techniques she uses to dramatic effect today.

Her paternal grandfather had shortened the family name, El Atlasi, on arriving in Europe. “I have ancestry in Morocco further back than Egypt,” she said. “But that name is also found in Syria and Lebanon.”

Her father’s large LP collection ranged from Middle Eastern sounds to classical (“My mum was more into Led Zeppelin”).

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