רואים רחוק רואים שקוף - Music

Meir Banai Hebrew מאיר בנאי‎ 5 July 1961 – 12 January 2017 Was An Israeli Musician Singer And Songwriter. History Meir Banai Was Born In Beersheba In 1961 The Son Of Yitzhak Banai To A Traditional Jewish Family Which Has Produced Various Actors And Singers Such As Orna Banai Eviatar Banai Ehud Banai Yuval Banai Singer From Band משינה And Yossi Banai. Banai Was One Of Israel’s Beloved Performers As Familiar And Recognized As The Battered Black Fedora That Was Nearly Always On His Head. It Was The Kind Of Hat Probably Worn By His Great-Grandfather Meir Eliyahu Banai Known As A Master Storyteller And The Progenitor Of A Family Of Entertainers Closely Identified With The Shifts And Evolution Of Israeli Society. Over A 30-Year Career Meir Banai Careened From Soul To Rock Before Finally Landing On A Soulful Spiritual Sound That Has Become Part And Parcel Of The Israeli Music Scene. Melding Ancient Lyrics With Modern Sound Something Now Emulated By Banai’s Younger Brother Eviatar Banai And Their Cousin Ehud Banai Is Today Heard In Rock Concerts Albums As Well As By Younger Artists Competing On Reality Shows Like “The Voice.” It Was All Initiated By Meir Banai Though His Story Goes Back To His Grandfather The Greengrocer. Eliyahu Banai As He Was Known Was One Of The First Merchants On Agas Street In Jerusalem’s Famed Mahane Yehuda Market. It Was Yossi Banai Meir’s Famous Uncle Who Grew Up In The Tiny Apartment Above The Family Vegetable Stand And Became Known For His Skills As An Israel Prize-Winning Actor And Raconteur. A Star Of David With Eliyahu Banai’s Name Is Carved Into The Lintel Of The House Where The Banai Family Lived. Agas Street Has Been Renamed Eliahu Banai Street. Meir Banai Born In 1961 Was The Nephew Of Yossi And The Son Of Yaakov Banai A Judge. He Was Raised With His Siblings Comedian Orna Banai And Singer Evitar Banai In Beersheva. He Began Playing Guitar And Composing Music At 17 And His First Hit Was A Single Called “Eviatar ” About His Little Brother Italic Eviatar
Plays All Day
Goofs Around All Day
Plays In The Grass In The Colors Of The World
I Love You Eviatar My Little Brother
Play On The Hill
Until The Sun Goes Down
I’ll Enter The Game
And Get Yelled At By Mom /italic He Paid For That First Album Himself When He Was Just 23 Earning That Vital Initial Airtime On The Radio. After That Banai Got Busy Playing Small Bars And Venues Around The Country With A Strong Soulful Voice That Was Considered Unique For The Still Fledgling Israeli Music Scene. According To Critics It Seemed That Banai Wasn’t Sure Whether To Become A Rocker Or Stick With More Soulful Israeli Folk Music That Was Typical Until Then And He Seemed To Vacillate Between The Two Options For The Next Few Years. There Wasn’t A Tremendous Amount Of Public Attention Paid To His Early Music. Certain Highlights In His Career Pushed Him Onto Center Stage. He Appeared In “Breaking ” An Early Avi Nesher Comedy Which Also Featured His Song “Shiro Shel Shafshaf.” His Second Album In 1987 “Rain ” Was More Of A Commercial Success Achieving Gold Album Status And Selling More Than 20 000 Copies Which Was Four Times That Of His First Album. Banai Said That The Inspiration For The Title Song “Rain ” Came From A Scene In Director Martin Scorsese’s 1976 Film “Taxi Driver.” The Album Was Famously Produced In Just One Week Of Recording And Has Been Covered Since By Many Younger Artists Who Have Followed In Banai’s Lead. Banai Became Known For His Collaborations With Other Musicians As Well As His Own Solo Work. With An Acoustic Guitar In His Hands And Harmonica Clenched In His Mouth His Song “Gates Of Mercy” Was Released In 1992 And Was Another Major Hit Although Critics Often Commented That It Was About His Own Personal Struggles And Not Of A Religious Nature Despite Lyrics Referring To Jerusalem’s Old City. Italic I’m Going Around In The Old City
And Noise Comes From Every Corner
I Already Know 
I Know My Way Already
On The Way To The Gate Of Mercy. /italic Not All Of Banai’s Albums Were Major Sellers But They Always Featured Several Songs That Became Classics Of The Israeli Playlist Known For Their Lyrics That Characterized His Personal Experiences Often Mirroring The Hopes And Desires Of His Fellow Israelis. In 1999 Banai And Singer Arkadi Duchin Collaborated On A Tour That Featured Each Of Their Songs And Released “Domino ” Another Successful Mini-Album Which Included The Very Successful “A Brief Love.” Banai Also Appeared On And Wrote For Several TV Series Including 1989’s “The Last Vacation ” “Not Including Service ” In 1991 “Zinzana” In 2001 “Jerusalem Mix” In 2003 And “Sabbaths And Holidays” In 2004. It Was After Banai Emerged In 2007 A Little More Religious And With An Album Called “Shma Koli” Hear My Voice" A Collection Of Sephardi Piyuttim — Traditional Poems Taken Mostly From Yom Kippur Liturgy — Combined With His Own Modern Composing Infusion That He Achieved A More Significant Level Of Fame And Became A Household Name. Haaretz Wrote That Banai In Composing Some Of The Songs On His "excellent 'Jewish' Album" Created An Upswing In The Melody At Key Points In Songs In Which The Speaker/narrator Lifts Up His Eyes To The Heavens And Calls Upon God. The Single “Lech Elay” Became A Hit As Soon As It Was Released And The Award-Winning Album Sold More Than 15 000 Copies According To NMC Figures . The Album Represented A Fundamental Shift In Israeli Culture As Mystical Themes Entered Israeli Rock And Roll. According To Writer Yossi Klein Halevi Who Has Written Extensively About The Soulful Forces Re-Energizing Hebrew Music The Music Industry Is Now A Central Force In Re-Judaizing Israeli Culture – Thanks In Large Part To The Extraordinary Musicians Of The Banai Family. In February 2008 The Israeli Lottery Mifal HaPayis Announced That Banai Was A Winner Of The Landau Award For Stage Arts An Award For Excellence In The Arts. After Not Appearing Together On Stage For A Decade Arkadi Duchin And Banai Performed Together In April 2009. He Released Ten Albums. Noam Banai Meir’s Son Who Recently Released His First Single With A Sound That Is Familiar To Those Who Know His Father’s Voice Said Recently That His Father’s Shift Toward Religion Had A Major Effect On Him. He Was Around 10 Years Old At The Time And It Was When Banai And His Wife Also Divorced. “It Was A Big Change But I Came Around With Time ” Said Banai Who Is Not Religiously Observant. When Noam Banai Told His Father He Wanted To Become A Musician His Father Told Him To Work Hard He Said. It Was A Line Meir Banai Took From His Own Life. Death Banai Died From Esophageal Cancer On 12 January 2017 In Hemed At The Age Of 55. Bio And Albums Beginning And 80s Meir Banai Was Born In 1961 In Be'er Sheva To Parents Who Are Not In The Field Of Entertainment. From The Age Of 17 He Played The Guitar And Wrote Songs But It Wasn't Until Mid-1982 That He Released His First CD With Two Songs He Wrote And Composed. The First A Song He Wrote About His Little Brother "Abitar" Became A Big Hit And Banai Was Considered One Of The Biggest Promises Of The Year. The Second Song Was "To The Resting Place". With Banai Eric Rodich Played On The Recordings Who Also Arranged And Played Keyboards And With Him Miki Shabib On Bass Shmulik Budgov On Guitars And Meir Israel On Drums. Nachum Heyman Was Turned On By His Special Voice Signed Him To His Independent Record Company "May Music" And Produced His First Album Which Was Released In Mid-1984. Meir Banai Banai's Debut Album Was Musically Arranged And Produced By Eric Rodich. Meir Wrote And Composed All The Songs Including "When The Day Rises" "Looking For The Direction" "To The Resting Place" And "Shove Mallavev". In The Recordings Banai Played Acoustic Guitar In One Song And Mainly Sang A Song Full Of Soul And Power Which Expressed An Original And Special Creator Who Although Influenced By British Singers Such As Peter Gabriel And John Armtrading Created A New And Personal Sound That Had Not Been Heard In Israeli Rock Until Then. Rodich Shabib Budgov Israel Haim Romano And Gary Eckstein Participated In The Album. Despite Its Uniqueness The Album Almost Disappeared Due To A Lack Of Public Relations And Banai Himself Referred To His Next Album As The True Beginning Of His Path. With The Release Of The Album It Seemed That Banai Had Not Yet Decided What Kind Of Singer He Was One Who Goes Rock With A Band Or One Who Prefers Songs From The Old And Familiar Land Of Israel. He Did Not Perform With His Own Material But Continued To Perform In The Beach Team With Hani Livna And Moshe Detz In A Performance Of Nachum Hayman's Songs Produced And Arranged By Rodich. Two Of His Songs In The Show Were Released On The Shaderim Record Heiman's Compositions For "Fisherman's Prayer" M. Natan Yonatan And "You Hear" M. Natan Alterman . From The End Of 1984 To The Middle Of 1985 Banai Participated As An Actor In Avi Nesher's Film "Breakers". He Composed And Sang The Hit Of The Film "Shiro Shel Shafshef" M. Yair Nitsani E. Yizhar Ashdot And Also Sang With Gali Atari Arik Sinai C. Hayman Yizhar Ashdot And The Other Participants Of The Film "Love Of The Night" M. Nitsani L. And A. Ashdot .
A Relatively Long Time Passed Until The Recording Of His Second Album And In The Meantime Banai Had Time To Participate At The End Of 1985 In A Festival In A Song He Composed To The Words Of The Girl Avital Weiss "Shir Tsev" And To Act In 1986 In Amnon Rubinstein's Film "Nadia". He Also Sang In The Movie Soundtrack A Song He Wrote And Composed "Other Dreams".
In 1987 Meir Banai's Second Album Rain Was Released Produced By Solo Yurman. Three Years After His Debut Album Banai Was A Different Artist Strong Original Confident In His Work And Singing And With The Arrangements And Musical Production Of Mati Caspi Banai Created One Of The Most Fascinating Albums Of The Period. He Wrote And Composed All The Songs Including "The Party That's Over" "Don't Go From Here" "The Night With Me" "Say Fire Say Water" And "Rain". Rain The Song And The Album Became Huge Hits And Within A Few Months The Album Became A Gold Record 20 000 Copies Four Times What The First Album Had Done Until Then. Banai Became A Star And This Time He Backed Up The Release Of The Album With A Successful Concert Tour. In May 1988 Banai's Performance Was Recorded At "Tsvata" In Tel Aviv Produced By Yurman Solo And With Arrangements And Musical Direction By Banai And Adi Degani And A Live Performance Was Released On Record. From Among His Best Hits That Banai Sang In Concerts Mainly Sections That Were Not In The Rain Were Chosen For The Album Among Them "Strawberries" "God Of Rest" "Like A Bird" "She Has Such A Long Nose" And "Other Dreams". To These Were Added "The Fisherman's Prayer" And "You Hear" As Well As "Shashef's Song". Along With His Performances With His Band Banai Also Hosted Special Performances Among Them With His Cousins Ehud Banai And Yuval Banai And Shina. Banai Devoted Most Of His Time In The Next Two Years To Studying And Developing His Musical Abilities And He Did Undergo An "upgrade" Creatively As Could Already Be Seen In His Next Album.
In 1989 Banai Released A Radio Record Called "El HaHolom" With A Heavy Guitar Sound Musically Produced By Moshe Levy. The Song Was Not Released On An Album. 90s In 1990 Banai's Fourth Album The Colors Are Changing Was Released Musically Produced By Levy Who Also Orchestrated And Arranged Wind Instruments In "Oli Ha'elel" . All The Words Melodies And Arrangements Of The Songs Were By Banai And Among The Songs Included Were "The Clown" "I Steal Not For The Money" "The Sun Is Leaving" "You Are The Only One" And "The Colors Change". The Album Was Produced By Michael Tapuh And Etti Ante For "Many Productions" And It Was Not Very Successful Although "The Sun Is Leaving" And "You Are The Only One" Became Classic Night Songs On The Radio. In 1992 The Album Was Released... And Among Them Musical Production And Arrangements By Moshe Levy. Except For The Lyrics To "And Between Them" Which Anat Banai's Wife Participated In Writing And "I'm Running Out Of Words" Which Were Written By Ehud Manor Banai Wrote And Composed All The Songs Including "Short Love" "The Gate Of Mercy" And "Yerushalim". Ronan Ben-Tal Received Special Thanks In The Album For Advice And Help. ...And Between Them Became After Two Albums That Were Not Bestsellers A Great Commercial Success. In 1992 Banai Returned To Festigal Again And Sang His Tune For "Yom Ehad La Hayom" M. Ehud Menor . In 1996 Banai's Album Manginat Handomid Was Released Musically Produced And Arranged By Him With Yair Michael. In Addition To "The Oked Naeked And The Altar" M. Manor According To A Prayer For Rosh Hashanah And "Paintings In The Window" M. Tsaroya Lahav There Were The Words And Melodies Of Banai Among Them The Songs "Minginat Handomidim" "Good For Her And Bad" "How Much Love " And "and The Train". After The Record Release Banai Recorded Arranged And Produced By Him With Yair Michael A Renewal Of "Where Are Our Ancestors" M. Haim Hefer L. Shmulik Kraus A Hit Of The High Windows. At The 1998 "Dead Sea Festival" Banai Joined With His Cousins Yuval Banai And Ehud Banai For A Special Show At Kibbutz Mitzpe Shalem. Along With Their Regular Performances The Three Teamed Up For An Acoustic Set Of Their Best Songs. In The Same Year Banai Recorded His Tune For "Molat" To The Words Of Ehud Manor For The Collection Of Manor's Poems I Have No Other Country. In 1999 Banai Went To A Joint Show With Arkady Duchin In A Musical Production By Yehuda Ader. In The Show "Arkadi Banai Meir Duchin" Both Sang From Their Best Hits Duchin Played Piano Keyboards And Bass And Banai Played Guitar And Percussion. They Also Created One Song Together "Domino" And Released A Mini-Album Containing This Song And Four More Songs From The Performance Produced By Oved Efrat "Short Love" And "The Night Of Me" M. And L. Banai And "Melancholy" And " A Man Without Eternity" M. Micha Shetrit L. Duchin . 2000s At The Beginning Of 2001 Banai Lev Sadok's Album Was Released Arranged By Moshe Levy And Produced By Levy Banai And Simon Weinstock. Banai Wrote And Composed All The Songs Including The Hits "Broken Heart" "Alia" "Bintime" And More. A Year Later He Released Kema Ahava An Album In Double Format With One Disc That Included A Collection Of His Hits And Another New Song "In The Name Of Love" And Another Disc Of Songs Performed Acoustically. As Mentioned Above Shma Koli "Hear My Voice" Released In 2007 Was A CD Packed With Traditional Jewish Texts And Prayers. The Arrangements Are Based On Traditional Tunes But Have Been Given A Modern Infusion. The Single "Lech Elay" Became A Hit As Soon As It Was Released. In February 2008 The Israeli Lottery Mifal HaPayis Announced That Banai Was A Winner Of The Landau Award For Stage Arts An Award For Excellence In The Arts. After Not Appearing Together On Stage For A Decade Arkadi Duchin And Banai Performed Together In April 2009. Meir Banai Released A Total Of 10 Albums In A Career That Spanned Decades. read less