ANGLO-EGYPTIAN singer Natacha Atlas says she has different personas for different languages. As she is fluent in English, French and Arabic, this must be some battle of wills.
“I think there’s a different characteristic in each language but I can’t describe it, it’s just a feeling,” she explains.
The 45-year-old grew up in Belgium, but her father was originally from Egypt, so performing Arabic-influenced music feels natural to her. “I feel Anglo-Egyptian in a sense,” she reveals. “I have this duality, but I feel that I exist in an almost triangulated state because I was born in Belgium.
“With my work, I am in touch with the Arabic side of me all the time. The three of us in the group speak Arabic and English mixed in and feel very at home like that.
“We feel that we take what we like from both cultures and reject what we don’t like.”
While Atlas may not yet be a household name in Britain, she is well-loved in France, where she feels cultural barriers are not as enforced as in the UK.
“France has always been very open to world music whereas England has only had pockets of it,” says Atlas, whose vocals featured on the soundtrack to 2007 film Brick Lane.
“If you’re only exposed to white pop culture then, unless you’re of a certain curious character that might be what you stick to – just because everybody seems to be comfortable with what they know.
“White English people are not the most adventurous. I feel like I might be generalising, although it’s easy to generalise when you see what’s around you and what’s on Radio 1 and on the TV.”
Atlas hopes that the Liverpool Arabic Weekender, which she is performing at in July, will help promote a wider understanding of diverse cultures.
“It’s very positive that we’ve got an Arabic festival now in Liverpool,” she says.
“England has been one-dimensional for two long and on the surface that seems to be changing.
“It can help to show the artistic nature of different cultures and that always helps break down the stereotypical views that people seem to have when they’re not informed.”
NATACHA ATLAS plays the Philharmonic Hall on July 18. Further details on the Liverpool Arabic Weekender from www.arabic artsfestival.co.uk
