Belly Babes UK

Track Listing:

1. Ya Laure Hobouki
2. Beny Ou Benak Eih
3. Ana Hina
4. La Shou El Haki
5. Black is the Colour
6. La Teetab Alayi
7. La Vida Callada
8. Hayati Inta Reprise (Hayatak Ana)
9. El Asil
10. Lammebada
11. He Hesitated
12. El Nown

Natacha Atlas has worked with many musicians over the years, including Jah Wobble and Transglobal Underground. For this, her 7th album, she has teamed up with musical director Harvey Brough to create a work completely different to anything she has done before.

Ana Hina is a beautifully crafted acoustic album. Middle Eastern tracks blend effortlessly with with ones of a more Latin nature. For this album Natacha has covered a number of Middle Eastern classics, including three songs by legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz from her time with the Rahbani Brothers and two by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez. Of the three Fairuz covers, La Teetab Alayi is a personal favourite.

One of the highlights is La Vida Callada, a poem by Frida Kahlo and performed as a duet in Spanish with Clara Sanabras. Natacha Atlas could never be accused of being predictable and this track is so unexpected but it works. A cover of the traditional song Black is the Colour is reminiscent of the version made famous by Nina Simone.

There are also a number of new songs on the album, including the title track Ana Hina and He Hesitated. Also featured is a fabulous reworking of Hayati Inta from the last album, Mishmaoul. The electronica has been replaced by a wonderfully funky bass and an accordion solo in the middle.

If you're a fan of Mishmaoul or it's predecessor Something Dangerous, this album might on first listening appear too subtle and understated. It is however, that subtlety that is the album's greatest strength. The quality of the musicianship is superb, but it never overshadows Natacha Atlas's voice.

This is a difficult album to categorise. It's not really one for belly dancing to, but it's not chill-out either, although fans of that genre would undoubtedly enjoy it. It will definitely be in the running at the next World Music Awards.

Ana Hina is widely available, both in cd form and as a download from Napster and iTunes. It comes with a booklet giving a bit of background to each of the tracks, but only the last song has an English translation.