CENTRES that allow musicians to jam together and record their sessions are needed in Bahrain to promote local talents.
Bahraini singer songwriter Banah Anabtawi, whose stage name is Banah, has been making her mark in the country and the region thanks to her unique music that blends eastern and western styles, reflecting her upbringing in the Middle East and Canada.
The 33-year-old was born in Canada and grew up in Saudi, but returned to Canada for her studies and settled in Bahrain 13 years ago.
Despite her lifelong passion for music, Banah did not pursue a career in it due to familial constraints until the birth of her first daughter three years ago when she decided it was her calling and wanted to inspire her children.
With support from her husband she started pursuing a career in music and by 2017 she had established herself well enough, through YouTube videos, that she was given the opportunity to open for pop legend Tom Jones during the Spring of Culture festival that year.
Since then she has gone on to perform at the Jazz Festival, the Bahrain International Air Show and last year’s ‘Manama Doesn’t Sleep’ event.
She talked to the GDN about her journey in music and said that the country needed to provide more opportunities for up-and-coming local artists in the same way it supported local entrepreneurs.
“I believe just like there is support for doing business and everything that’s economy based, there needs to be more support for creative arts,” said the mother-of-two.
“Bahrain offers a lot of support for fine arts, I believe also music, acting, drama, and I think there should be more support.
Guidance
“Yes, there is support from the Economic Development Board, the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities and all of that, but I believe there needs to be more support in not just offering them gigs, but offering them guidance on what they can do next.
“When international acts come to Bahrain for events like the Spring of Culture, they should facilitate for local talents to perform opening acts for them on the main stage.”
She said efforts could also be made to get local musicians in touch with authorities or organisations around the Gulf to market them for regional festivals and events.
However, she also urged local musicians to step up their assertiveness when taking a job to promote their craft as many venues do not pay artists.
“Musicians in Bahrain don’t charge much, they don’t make much money – I’m the highest paid because I charge a lot, I choose to be this way because that’s time I’m setting aside to perform,” she explained.
“I don’t blame venues who don’t pay the musicians, I blame the musicians, why are you allowing that to happen? Don’t do anything for exposure unless it’s something grand, unless it’s something that is really important, don’t do it for exposure because these venues are taking advantage of the musicians.
“You have places like the Emirates, throughout the Arab world and the West, where they really pay musicians, where they are valued, and they need to be valued here.”
She said that establishing centres with proper equipment for musicians to hone their skills and record music at an affordable rate can also be a key investment.
“This is something that can be established by the government, give us a hub, a place where musicians can come together and be introduced to different genres and have that fusion of music, you need a place for that,” she said.
“I mean there are places to rent, but they are expensive, it’s like BD20 for two hours, it’s not cheap and not everyone can afford to do that, it’s not sustainable.
“If I was to design that hub it would be a space that has different types of instruments, drums would be very important, because drums are very difficult to carry around, it would have a basic recording studio, a different rotation of sound engineers, maybe a DJ booth.”
As part of her career progression, Banah recently completed filming videos for two new singles which will be released soon.
She will also take centre stage next Friday at the Bahrain International Circuit for the Festival City, which is being held as part of the country’s annual shopping festival called Shop Bahrain.
ghazi@gdn.com.bh
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