Banna was born in Nazareth, where she graduated from Nazareth Baptist School. She lived in Nazareth with her three children.
She died on 24 March 2018, aged 51, in a hospital in her hometown of Nazareth, Palestine following a lengthy and brave battle with breast cancer, which she openly shared with her numerous fans through social media. She met her husband, Ukrainian guitarist Leonid Alexeyenko, while studying music together at the Higher Music Conservatory in Moscow and they married in 1991, and divorced in 2010.
Banna first achieved popularity in the early 1990s, after recording her own versions of traditional Palestinian children's songs that were on the verge of being forgotten.
Banna also composed her own songs and set Palestinian poetry to music. Her message is often focused on the suffering of Palestinians. Her music is described as "haunting, emotional, at times bordering on kitsch." She described her music as a means of cultural self-assertion:
A part of our work consists of collecting traditional Palestinian texts without melodies. So that the texts do not get lost, we try to compose melodies for them that are modern, yet inspired by traditional Palestinian music.
In this way, Banna does more than mimic the traditional techniques and representations of the pieces she interprets. She blends them with modern singing styles because,
Oriental singing techniques are mostly ornamental… But my voice is more two-dimensional, thicker. I try to write songs that fit my voice. I want to create something new in every respect. And that includes bringing people elsewhere closer to the music and soul of the Palestinians.
She performed live in the West Bank and she reached audiences in Gaza through live webcasts. She performed her first concert in Syria on 8 January 2009 and also performed in Tunisia on 25 July 2011. Her first concert in Beirut took place on 22 March 2012.
Banna's popularity in Europe began after Norwegian music producer Erik Hillestad invited her to participate on the CD Lullabies from the Axis of Evil (2003) and Norwegian singer Kari Bremnes, who also took part on this production in a duet with Rim Banna, invited her to Oslo. Banna accepted the invitation, and the two artists did a show together.
The album, dubbed "a musical antiwar message to U.S. President Bush from female singers in Palestine, Iraq, Iran, and Norway," brings these women together with others from North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and Afghanistan, to sing traditional lullabies from their lands in duet form with English-language performers whose translation allows the songs to reach a Western audience.
The Mirrors of My Soul, which was dedicated to all the Palestinian and Arab political detainees in the Israeli prisons, is a stylistic departure from her previous body of work. Produced in cooperation with a Norwegean quintet, it features "Western pop styling" fused with Middle Eastern modal and vocal structures, and Arabic lyrics.
Although the style differs from previous recordings, the subject matter has basically remained constant. The album includes "songs of despair and hope" about the lives of "a struggling people, and even a song about late Palestinian leader and PA president Arafat in a way that is both thoughtful and subtle".
Discography
Jafra (1985)
Your tears Mother (1986)
The Dream (1993)
New Moon (1995)
Mukaghat (1996)
Al Quds Everlasting (2002)
Krybberom (2003) Rim Banna & SKRUK
Lullabies from the Axis of Evil (2003 – Various female artists)
The Mirrors of My Soul (2005, Valley Entertainment)
This was not my story (2006) Rim Banna & Henrik Koitz
Seasons of violet (2007)
Songs across Walls of Separation (2008 – Various artists from the Middle East, Africa, Central America, North America, and Europe)
April Blossoms (2009) an album for children, was dedicated to the children martyrs in Gaza
A Time to cry (2010), was recorded in one of the houses in Sheikh Jarrah under constant threat of eviction from the part of their house (with three Palestinian singers)
"Tomorrow" (Bokra) 2011, a single song of the American legend composer Quincy Jones, who chose Rim Banna to represent Palestine in this project which will be released in an Album and a video clip in September 2011
Revelation of Ecstasy and Rebellion (2013); produced by Bugge Wesseltoft
Songs from a Stolen Spring (2014, Valley Entertainment/Kirkelig Kulturverksted - Various Artists), featuring "Break Your Fears"
The Dream
Rim Banna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Beyond the grass-coverd night
Above the cloud barriers
Gathering up the soft feather fluffs of the wild pigeons
From the flickering wind
Upon the lightening sails
And the veils of lilac
I pass through the other death
To approach you
In Rim Banna's song "The Dream," the lyrics seem to depict a dream-like state where the singer is seamlessly moving through different barriers and landscapes. The first line refers to passing through a dream, which could imply that the singer is not fully present in reality but rather in a subconscious state. The "grass-covered night" and "cloud barriers" both allude to a sense of mystery and obscurity, as if the singer is traversing through something unknown or hidden.
As the lyrics progress, the imagery becomes more specific and tangible. The singer gathers "soft feather fluffs of the wild pigeons" from the wind, lighting sails, and veils of lilac. This could represent a sense of fragility and delicacy, as pigeons and feathers are both quite delicate and fragile. The veils of lilac could also symbolize a veil or cover that the singer is trying to lift or see through.
The last line is perhaps the most poignant, as it describes passing through "the other death" to approach someone. This could suggest that the singer is reaching out to someone who is no longer living, perhaps trying to connect with them in a dream or spiritual state. Overall, the lyrics of "The Dream" are quite abstract and open to interpretation, but they paint a vivid picture of navigating through different states of consciousness and attempting to bridge the divide between the living and the dead.
Line by Line Meaning
I pass through the dream
I navigate the realm of the subconscious
Beyond the grass-covered night
Beyond the darkness of the night lies new beginnings
Above the cloud barriers
I transcend any obstacles in my journey
Gathering up the soft feather fluffs of the wild pigeons
I collect the purity and innocence of nature
From the flickering wind
Capturing the fleeting essence of existence
Upon the lightening sails
As I navigate the sea of life
And the veils of lilac
In the midst of beauty and tranquility
I pass through the other death
I transcend physical death and decay
To approach you
To connect with a loved one on a deeper level
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Rim Banna, Leonid Alexeienko
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Hisham
on Two Kinds of Love
I love you with two different kinds of love - the love of passion and of admiration
And I love you because you deserve both kinds of love
The first kind of love, which is the love of passion,
In this love, I am occupied with thoughts of you, and you alone
The second kind of love, which you are deserving of,
In this love, you reveal yourself to me so that I may see you clearly
I do not find happiness in one kind of love over the other
Rather, you are the one deserving of my gratitude for bringing both kinds of love to my life
And when I realized that my heart was empty
You filled it with love for you and pushed all other thoughts aside
You filled my entire being with your love,
Until there was no room left for anyone or anything other than you
So my heart is filled with passion and adoration for you
And I cannot stop speaking of you
Wherever I turn, my eyes are searching for you
Your essence encompasses every aspect of my being
And I cannot listen to anyone else
Unless they speak of you with the same admiration and love