Ana Hina is the exciting, brand new direction for Middle Eastern music icon and singing sensation Natacha Atlas. Her debut acoustic project (and first album for the World Village label), finds Natacha exploring a more traditional roots world, again infusing Oriental and Western music, but looking to the past to uncover a rich history of musical collaboration. Working with top British musical director and arranger Harvey Brough, the band features outstanding musicians from around the globe and from different musical backgrounds: Clara Sanabras (Barcelona) oud and voice; Natacha's cousin Alyel Minyawi (London via Cairo) percussion; Andy Hamill (Scotland) double bass; the great Gamil Awad (a star in Egypt who played on some of this repertoire the first time around) on accordion, soloing in the Nubian style; with Arabic soloists embellishing the tight harmonies of a Western string section, this performance spans the centuries and crosses continents from the West to the East and back again. In the specially created arrangements, locked in the embrace of this exciting band, Atlas' voice is heard as never before, a priceless jewel in a rich and eclectic setting.
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