Name: Natacha Atlas & Samy Bishai
Nationality: Belgian-Egyptian
Current release: Natacha Atlas & Samy Bishai's new album PARALLEL UNIVERSE VOL 1 is out via Airfono.
 
If you enjoyed this Natacha Atlas interview and would like to find out more about her music, visit her on Instagram, and Facebook.

Over the years, Natacha Atlas has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including  Johnny Kalsi, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Yazz Ahmed.

[Read our Johnny Kalsi interview]
[Read our Jean-Michel Jarre interview]
[Read our Yazz Ahmed interview]
[Read our Yazz Ahmed interview about Heritage, Identity, and A Paradise In The Hold]



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

Well, often it can be a reflection on the world around us, the things that are going on globally that we feel strongly about. “SOMOUD” from PARALLEL UNIVERSE VOL 1, for example, is definitely about the injustices that are politically happening.



At other times, it's from a dream that has stuck in my head for a long time … sometimes me and Samy like to play with phrases to experiment with them in English and Arabic and see how they can be expressed in both languages because the meaning can change in another language.

It can also depend on our mood, I tend to gravitate towards improvisational mood pieces that are more ballad-like than stompers like “ZAR 12” which was based on some whimsical phrases that we worked on and has a kind of ethereal quality.



I enjoyed that process of playing with the words in an improvisational through compositional style. So there’s no hard and fast rule … it depends on the day.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

Having some phrases can help. But sometimes I’ll hear a sound-designed programmed groove that Samy has come up with and I may have already some loose ideas and get really inspired. So then we may start by developing melodies or lines for the music like bass or synth keyboard lines that lay down a framework and it goes on from there.

“HAGA ZAY KIDDA” was started by Samy playing some pretty chords on an acoustic guitar in the kitchen while I was cooking. I loved the chords and it immediately suggested a tune in my head, a define melody that did not yet have words - but that’s how that track came into being.



Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions’?

I don't think I need tools. But having some phrases or even a single line can help start an idea. Occasionally I might say to Samy, I want to write a song or I want to say something about this particular situation and it has a definite mood of menace or just being pissed off if its about something that makes me mad …

I am thinking about getting one of those loop boxes, a friend of mine, a singer/artist in France called Leila Martial uses them for generating ideas and she knows them well and is really good at navigating them. She showed me her playing with one and then handed me the mic … it's a fascinating tool and I am very tempted but I have never been consistent as using these things requires putting some time in to get proficient.

But the one she uses could definitely be worth a shot!

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

Soft vibey lighting and being relaxed and having a nice sound /reverb on the voice.

I don't like bright lights for singing when its the beginning of an idea.

For your latest release, PARALLEL UNIVERSE VOL 1, what did you start with? If there were conceptual considerations, what were they?

We had some themes in mind because we were changing genre. Samy and I had been focusing the last few years on jazz with Arabic scales and our last album STRANGE DAYS had been completely acoustic.



It featured a jazz ensemble and we decided to go into a completely electronic, Arabic beats focused direction, with a modern approach.There were influences from Egyptian MAHRAGAN to SHAABI pop meets trip hop with sampling ourselves. A few of the songs were in Arabic and English.

The conceptual side was rooted in parallel universes and sci-fi because we both love sci-fi films and books and the idea of parallel universes in another timeline where we are maybe the same people physically but perhaps we had different careers …. perhaps in another timeline 2026 was way more advanced and civilised!!

Tell me a bit about the way the new material developed and gradually took its final form, please.

A lot of it started with the programming. I liked the idea of Arabic beats programmed digitally because in a sense that is where I started with TRANSGLOBAL UNDERGROUND in the 90s.



But Samy has his own programming aesthetic and he is a very talented programmer. Also, we both grew up with Arabic rhythms but I loved the idea of 808 beats and big bass with Arabic melodies and modern synth and keyboard lines and some loops.

The track “UNCHANGING GAME,” for example, started with this keyboard line on the Farfisa which turned out to be a catchy melody.



What makes it quite trippy is that it was a melody played with Arabic quarter tones on chords with this Farfisa sound and it started out as a playful joke! A quarter tone in chords!! We said to each other ‘’no we can’t do that its sacrilege because that doesn’t usually work - it normally sounds wrong or badly out of tune because quarter tones in chords do not make sense, they clash.

But in this instance and with that particular sound it did work! It made a really quirky melody and it just had a really cool vibe. It just transpired that way and sometimes things like that occur when you’re experimenting playfully.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

Aahhh ermmmmm … I like philosophical lyrics but I don't think I’m that good at lyrics. Samy has become really good at lyrics so we throw things back and forth which has helped me a lot especially as my written Arabic is weak. So he comes up with some really great lines and he is also great at translating English into Arabic.

There are a lot more lyrics on this album than on some of my previous albums. But this is now a joint effort and when it comes to lyrics, Samy has some likes and dislike: he doesn’t like repeating a line in a verse if it is not a chorus or else you say the line in a different way.

What are areas/themes/topics that you keep returning to in your lyrics?

I think I say a lot of similar things but in different ways …about the state of things in the world and dreaming of a better world.

Sometimes my lyrics are a cynical analysis of the ongoing world problems and I like ambiguous love songs and abstract musings.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

No rules for me with lyrics …I could sing the phone book or sing some Indian shlock prayers if I had nothing else …

I like to use my voice as a melodic instrument. I love improvising melodies so that’s why previously my lyrics have been limited.

But with Samy’s lyrical input I can explore different ways of expression.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

I think so. But it can be very spontaneous if I am just improvising melodically with long notes ornamented in a free flow to see what comes …

I like the idea of doing a whole album of meditational ambient music which would be rooted in a kind of spiritual meditational vibe. Actually Samy and I did an EP in 2021 called THE INNER AND THE OUTER and one track was a 10 minute ambient meditation type thing featuring Yazz Ahmed.



Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece?

That really depends on the piece. However, across the board most tracks benefit from letting them rest and evaluating to see what improvements could enhance it …

Occasionally a track needs nothing but a good mix. But would say that is rare.

Music and the accompanying artwork are often closely related. Can you talk about this a little bit for your current project and the relationship that images and sounds have for you in general?

The main album cover which is red and black, is an almost pop art photo of Samy and me in sunglasses feels a bit retro to me, a bit like a cartoon drawing.

For me personally, it's like a parallel universe reflection of me because all my previous album images of me were really glamorous photos with me wearing Arabic make up and sometimes very Middle Eastern clothing or belly dance attire.

But as this is a duo project and anything is possible in parallel universes, I loved the idea of an alternative image that can be a cartoon drawing or an Andy Warhol type of image in 2tone colours … I think it relates to the album and the songs quite acutely.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Ohhhh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh … well the cure for that is getting on the road and playing/performing the album and doing as many gigs as you can cope with.

Just getting it out there is the key to not feeling empty or emptied by the experience because that emptiness can be a product of fear and anxiety that is was all for nothing …you want for it to go somewhere to grow and one of the most basic ways is to play it live and see people interacting with it. Yeah that’s really important …

I think also when you go out and play it, it's natural that after a while you naturally sense when the time is right you start to return to the creative process.

I would love to know a little about the feedback you've received from listeners or critics about what they thought some of your songs are about or the impact it had on them – have there been “misunderstandings” or did you perhaps even gain new “insights?”

I, for one, had really great feedback personally because I had so many fans asking me when I was I going to return to electronic beats music. But I have also seen some lovely comments on social media on the singles we released first, like “SOMOUD,” for example. The following is one of many comments on YouTube under the video:

“What a unique, arty, committed, and so soulful piece of work .... A masterpiece on so many levels.... Respect to both of you and all involved in this great project that will mark the history of Music and commitment towards peace around this crazy world...One Love!”

Many such comments its heart warming..but one that stands out recently …around 2014 Samy and I were in the states doing a tour we were playing songs from MOUNQALIBA and ANA HINA and we found local musicians to be a part of the string section. In Arcata, California we had a young girl called Kira accompanied by her parents because she was about 15 or 16 at the time and she had to learn the repertoire during the soundcheck. But because she was studying music she could sight read parts so Samy taught her how to approach quarter tones and she played the show with us in Arcata.

Out of the blue I heard from her a month ago! She texted me while I was in Egypt to tell me that she is living in Egypt and doing her PHD in the history of Egyptian music from early 20th century until now. She said that her experience with us and our music literally changed the course of her life!!!

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I think music rather like film can take you on a journey of discovery … a discovery of a sea of emotions.

It can also be inspirational in helping to you see things in a different light.