ANATH A zig-zagging cultural lineage. A sublime voice. An ear for mixing and matching musical styles. With these ingredients, singer-songwriter Anath musically fuses traditions, inherited and chosen. A gumbo of North African rhythms, Middle Eastern instrumentation, a dash of French electronica and (what else?) the occasional Blondie cover, Anath’s music hints at her dizzying background. Born of Tunisian descent and raised in Israel and France, Anath is now a New Yorker by choice. Yet, she downplays her unique heritage and upbringing. “I come from Africa, Asia and Europe and I’m at home in New York. I guess that makes me a typical New Yorker,” she says. No longer a wanderer herself, Anath is still exploring with her music. “The songwriting process is always surprising for me. I’m influenced by so many styles. I never know what’s going to pop up in the music,” she explains. Among her array of influences, Anath counts everything from classic Egyptian artists like Farid El Atrash and Oum Kalthoum to Chanson Française artists like Claude Nougaro and British pop by the likes of Brian Ferry and Kate Bush. Her own music owes to all of these artists, becoming a hybrid of traditional sounds and electro-pop. Anath’s sex-dripping vocals (she purrs out her songs in French, Hebrew, Arabic and English) draw comparisons to Brazilian Girls, Sade and Everything But The Girl. Formally trained in music and dance since age six, Anath has already had a globe-trotting career. As a former member of the French gypsy pop band Fiesta Mora, Anath recorded two albums and had an international smash hit with the song "Alabina." The hit resulted in extensive touring across Europe, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia. In 2000, Anath joined the cast of the groundbreaking French musical "The Ten Commandments." An unprecedented success in French musical theater, the nightly production sold out Paris’s four-thousand seat Palais Des Sports Arena for four consecutive months and Anath took to the road again with the production’s traveling company. Anath’s music can also be heard in film. In 2001, Anath contributed two songs to the "La Verite Si Je Mens II" soundtrack. The film was one of France's biggest box office blockbusters of the year. In New York, Anath has quickly adapted to the local music scene, becoming a regular performer at Alphabet City’s Nublu and dazzling audiences across Manhattan. For more information on Anath, please visit: www.anathmusic.com. Anath Releases “Rapture” EP Performs at the Blue Note Friday, May 5 at Midnight New York, NY—Singer-songwriter Anath celebrates the release of “Rapture,” a five song EP including an imaginative reworking of the Blondie hit, with a special midnight performance on Friday, May 5 at the Blue Note (131 West 3rd Street). Blending Middle Eastern roots music and western rock, Anath echoes Fayrouz, Sade and Mazzy Star in an original set of lush harmonies and world beat. This mesmerizing singer/dancer/actress has recorded and performed in all three capacities throughout Europe and the Middle East, singing in French, Hebrew, Arabic and English. Admission to the Blue Note show is $8 and tickets are available at www.bluenote.net.