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ON the heels of dropping her latest original single after a one-year hiatus, Bahraini-Palestinian artist Banah Anabtawi has announced the release of an EP this month, featuring her Elektroniyat compositions that blend Arabic classics with international and modern touches.
Entitled Elektroniyat – Volume 1, the album will showcase three of the musical talent’s fusion creations, including classic like Umm Kulthum and Shadia. The project is a collaboration with Joel Gershom, a Bahrain-based producer who has previously been signed by international artists like Paul van Dyk.
“Commercial Arabic music is so diverse nowadays and the trend is moving toward a fusion of sounds. This is what I’m going to try to do with my music as well,” the 39-year-old told GulfWeekly.
“My previous original music was very Oriental sounding until maybe the last couple of months, with Majaneen and Ayna Anti having more Western sounds in them. I’m working on bringing some Arabic instrumentation into an electronic sound, which is not always easy because of the various Arabic scales that we have but, if done correctly, it’s beautiful and extremely inviting for the Arabic and Western ear,” she added.
Last month, the singer and songwriter released the single Galbi ma Yinam, which means ‘my heart can’t sleep’ or ‘my heart can’t rest’. Characterised by her signature fusion style of Oriental sounds with modern touches, it is a love song inspired by the ‘fear of losing someone you love’ and has attracted 253,331 views on YouTube. In it, the creative is seen wearing designer gowns with flowy silhouettes from Saks Fifth Avenue – a fitting aesthetic to the mood of the song.
“This track is something I’m super proud of as it features my own musical composition and lyrics – I usually get melody writers and lyricists to help me out, but I decided a couple of months back to take my artistic journey to the next level.
“I collaborated with (director) Ramy Nabha for the track and have many times before as well. He is extremely creative and has a lot of out-of-the-box ideas. The inspiration for the track, shot in Faraiya, Lebanon came from losing a family member. Even though the song is about (romantic) love, I drew my emotions from my experience,” she revealed.
Banah was born in Canada before moving to the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia when she was four. After returning to Canada to study business at university, she finally settled in Bahrain 19 years ago. She had a passion for performing at a young age, but life took her on a different career path. In 2019, Banah quit her corporate job to pursue music full-time.
Moving forward, the songstress from Saar is determined to release new creations every six to eight weeks, and is already working on another melodic house single that will release in September, as well as a couple more before year end. A Jazziyat (Arabic classics with jazz touches) tour, including a performance in Bahrain, is also on the cards.
“While I’m making more music, I’m trying to get away from just releasing for numbers and success and more because I enjoy what I’m doing,” she added.
Banah’s songs are available on various platforms including Anghami, Spotify and YouTube.
For more details, follow @banahofficial on Instagram.
