‘Something Dangerous’ follows on from the concept album, ‘Foretold in the Language of Dreams.’ However, ‘Something Dangerous’ returns to Atlas’s pop roots. Some of the songs have a trance-dance beat, and there’s also a cinematic sound at times.

‘Adam’s Lullaby’ is the first song, opening with Atlas’s beautiful Arabic lyrics, before the strings of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and Jocelyn Pook on viola swell up behind her, often taking over on sections. Other times, Atlas’s voice is joined only by a very simple string arrangement, and then the orchestra rises up again. This is a stunningly beautiful song. It’s like a boat that takes the listener off on a voyage across a quiet, calm moonlit sea. It’s a wonderful beginning to the album.

‘Eye of the Duck’ features Tuup and Princess Julianna. This is a very different sound from the previous track, mixing Arabic melody with a more Afro-Western beat and style. With Toop, Princess Julianna and Atlas on vocals, mixing English and Arabic lyrics, it’s a great catchy track with a fantastic dance rhythm.

‘Something Dangerous’ is next, and Princess Julianna is back on vocals. There’s an interesting sound mix on the opening of this track, which includes the chants of an anti-war demo, and the whistle blowing of the protestors plays in the background during other sections of this song. Again, there’s a mixing of English and Arabic. ‘Something dangerous is going on,’ is the English refrain played out against the protestors and the music. ‘You only see want they want you to see. You’re being deceived,’ we’re told.

‘Janamaan’ featuring Kalia on vocals is the fourth track, which was produced by Natacha Atlas’s old collaborators Trans Global Underground. There’s a heavy beat on this track which is sung in Hindi. The track is certainly reminiscent of Hindi cinema music, but it also has a strong Western pop sound.

‘Just Like A Dream’ opens on Atlas’s more traditional wavering Arabic vocalisation. Then the music insinuates itself seductively, with strong string support. Princess Julianna and Toop are also there on vocals.

The old song, ‘It’s A Man’s World’ is given a cinematic sweep, and comes across like something that ought to be played over rolling credits on a widescreen big budget film. It’s a wonderful version of the song, and Atlas’s wavering Arabic sound, though played down, gives this English language song just the right twist. Especially since she lapses into Arabic later on in the track.

‘Layali’ featuring Z returns to the mixing of Arabic and Afro-Western music, with Arabic lyrics and English rapping. ‘Simple Heart’ follows with Sinead O’Connor, and Z back on spoken vocals. O’Connor’s more fragile sound contrasts extremely well with Atlas’s Arabic diva style. As with many other songs on the album, Atlas herself is singing in more than one language.

‘Daymalhum’ combines Arabic vocals with a more techno beat sound. There’s also a layering of electronic distortion and sound effects. This is a fabulous dance track, with wavering vocalisations and a really dark, dangerous beat.

‘Who’s My Baby’ has Niara Scarlett also featuring on vocals. It’s a credit to Atlas that she’s willing to give other performers so much space on her album. The different languages and vocal styles interweave very successfully. ‘When I Close My Eyes’ is a another memorable track. Myra Boyle is also on vocals, and it’s another great combination. On this album, it’s impossible to talk about strong and weak tracks, because all the songs are good. ‘This Realm’ has a quieter beat, but there’s a shimmering exotic quality to it too.

‘Le Printemps’ is the penultimate track, sung in French. There’s electronic echoing weaving through the music, and overall this song has a slightly haunting quality. The album ends with ‘Like the Last Drop.’ The cinematic sound is there again as the song opens. This track looks back somewhat to the first song, and also to the more ambient sounds on her previous album, ‘Foretold in the Language of Dreams,’ particularly when she speaks briefly, as she did on ‘Foretold.’

‘Something Dangerous’ is one of Natacha Atlas’s best works. She’s always been an adventurous singer-songwriter, unafraid to sample different languages and cultures. Although mostly rooted in pop, to call her a pop singer would trivialise her music. This is the high end of pop. ‘Something Dangerous’ is a highly sophisticated mix of influences, cultures, and styles. The blend is sensuous, exotic, rhythmic, but presiding over it all is the diva herself, with a little help from her old collaborators Count Dubulah, Jah Wobble and Trans Global Underground.

Kara Kellar Bell is a film and media graduate from the West of Scotland, with a passion for European novels, French films, silent cinema, and Brazilian music (everything from Daniela Mercury and other pop stars through to bossa nova). As a writer, she likes to have room to move around creatively, so she’s not located in one genre. She writes realism and also stories of a more fantastic nature, usually grounded to some extent in the real world. She also takes delight in writing across the sexual spectrum, and as a bisexual, considers it important to remind people that things are not always black and white, either/or, in sexuality or in gender. She is currently completing her first novel. For a selection of Kara’s writing on the Showcase section of this site, click here

© 2004 Laura Hird All rights reserved.