Natacha Atlas
Natacha Atlas is of Egyptian ancestry, and her family moved through Palestine from Meknes in Morocco some generations ago. She was born in an Arabic quarter of Brussels, and spent some time in Northampton as a teenager before returning to Brussels. For the last five years, she has been spending as much time as possible in Cairo, strengthing her bonds with her roots, immersing herself in shaabi, Egypt's indigenous bluesy pop music, and writing songs in Arabic. She brings this unique array of influences to bear on her music not simply by patchworking them together, but by synthesising them into something thrillingly new.

Natacha has enjoyed in recent years the enthusiastic support of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, who share her passionate interest in North African music - she and Transglobal Underground were special guests on the 1998 Page and Plant European Tour, and they were in attendance at a vibrant Improv Theatre gig in London in February.