World Rhythm

ATLAS SOUL is a Boston based six-piece band performing original music, which celebrates Afro-Mediterranean cultures and urgently invites everyone to the dance floor.

This spring & summer Atlas Soul will be performing at the Houston International Festival, Houston TX, the Louisiana International Festival,Lafayette LA, the Montreal jazz festival, Montreal CA, the Musikfest, America's music Festival, Bethlehem PA, the Kennedy Center, Washington DC etc….

The members are from different cultural backgrounds and countries: Morocco, Israel, France, Germany and the U.S.A., thus representing a positively genuine fusion of traditions and inspirations geared towards better understanding and world peace.

“What hits hardest about Atlas Soul 's sound is the natural funk of North African music and also Lotfi 's powerful vocals, which span fluid, passionate Gnawa melodies and husky Raï hooks. There is great wisdom in a world-music outfit that embraces divergent genres (but not so many that the sound loses its identity)”.

Banning Eyre

ATLAS SOUL sings in Arabic, Hebrew, French and English, making it not only a truly World Music band, but the only group of this kind currently residing in the United States of America. The lyrics speak of love, natural wonders, oppression, poverty, and of the melancholy of immigrants longing for their homelands.

ATLAS Soul 's music incorporates many styles: Moroccan Raï, Shaabi, West African Highlife, Afro-Beat, Socca, Reggae, Samba, Jazz, Funk and Rock which may seem ambitious but comes to the band very naturally.

Atlas Soul formed about a year ago, when the remaining members of two bands in transition — Cosmos Factor and Casablanca 6/8 — merged.

In the mid' 90s Cosmos Factor were on of the few exemplary world-music bands in town- that is, they played a true hybrid, incorporating the sounds of the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean into a cohesive, multi-lingual whole. Neither new-age watery or jam-band wanky, it was disciplined, driving, world-funk dance music.

Casablanca 6/8 were an all-Moroccan jazz-fusion band that Lotfi Tiken started with his brother Majid in 1989.

The Tiken brothers guested on Cosmos's 1995 release, We All Live in a Jungle, and Cosmos factor front-guy Jacques Pardo guested on Casablanca's 1996 release, Listen brother .

In August 2001 Atlas Soul released their impressive debut album, Chamsa , which means, “Give me five “.

Here is the lineup:

Jacques Pardo : (from France and Israel) Vocals, sax, guitar/synth and founder/ producer. Played and shared the stage with artist such as Baba Maal, Hassan Hakmoun, Cheb Nasro .

Lotfi Tiken : (from Morocco) Vocals, guitar, percussions and producer in his own right, watch for his self-released album, The Moroccan' roll.

Brahim Fribgane : (from Morocco) Vocals, Oud, percussions. Brahim also plays and has recorded with legendary Gnawa musician Hassan Hakmoun, and Richard Horowitz, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Club d'Elf , Morphine , just to name a few.

Scott Palmer : ( from the U.S.A ) Bass. Scott played and recorded with DJ Logic . Scoot is also producing his own Hipop/Funk project : Hiptsofatso .

Boujema Razgui : (from Morocco) Vocals, Ne (Moroccan flute) violin, percussions. Boujema is a multi-instrumentalist; he is also playing with traditional Moroccan music ensembles in Montreal and Boston.