MIDDLE EAST: Palestinian singer teams up with Ukrainian husband to infuse traditional Palestinian music with modern influences

Record ID: 403831

  • Title: MIDDLE EAST: Palestinian singer teams up with Ukrainian husband to infuse traditional Palestinian music with modern influences
  • Date: 26th August 2007
  • Summary: (MER1) BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN SINGER RIM BANNA PERFORMING IN A BETHLEHEM SQUARE BEFORE A GROUP OF CHILDREN
  • Embargoed: 10th September 2007 13:00
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  • Reuters ID: LVA6QOKGCPOXZWZ812H51P3PR9WM
  • Story Text: Rim Banna, a Palestinian singer from Nazareth, performs traditional Palestinian songs which she combines with modern musical influences, many of which come from her Ukrainian husband and musical partner, Leonid Alexeienko.
    Banna, who is a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship, or an Arab-Israeli, says her music carries an important message about the situation of the Palestinians, particularly in the West Bank and Gaza.
    "We are artists and we work not just for art's sake. You know, music and creativity are important but this is just a part of it. What we are trying to say or do is focus on what is happening here, on the Palestinian tragedy. It is a tragedy and we are not trying to exaggerate it or create sympathy because it is real and we must talk about it," she says.
    Every album Banna and her husband have recorded has been dedicated to highlighting a specific cause or issue.
    "Every album we release, and we have released ten albums, are dedicated to a specific cause. 'The mirrors of the soul' was an album that we dedicated to all the Arab and Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails, to honour them in their struggle for freedom and the independence," she says.
    Banna met her husband in Moscow, where they both studied music and singing at the Higher Music Conservatory. They married and returned to Nazareth where they now live with their three children.
    "Doing this kind of work professionally started with Leonid. He is my husband and we studied music at the same institute and that was where we met. We work together writing our songs and we also perform together as a duo.
    Recently, we have been performing with band," she says.
    Because of the subject matter of her music, Banna believes that her music is a form of protest in its own right. Every recording she and her husband produce, they attempt to infuse with a sense of Palestine that they hope will educate their listeners about what is happening in that part of the world.
    "Our aim is bring our listeners to Palestine and the lands of Palestine [through the music], or bring Palestine to them so that they can see all of this and Palestine through our performances," she says.
    Banna was born in Nazareth in Galilee and regularly participates in national and international music festivals.
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