Noga Banai Releases Five-Song EP Years After Her Father's Death

Noga Banai, the daughter of the late musician Meir Banai, has released a new five-song mini-album of original material about a decade after his untimely death. The 31-year-old singer had already put out her first single in February, and is now unveiling four more songs she wrote and composed herself.

Banai worked on the project with her uncle Evyatar Banai, Dudu Tassa, her cousin Shmuel Banai, and producer Tamir Muskat, who also contributed instrumentation and vocals. In a statement released with the EP, she said that creativity and art have always been an inseparable part of her life in different forms.

She reflected on her father's death, saying, "About a decade ago, my father, who lived and breathed music, died. For me, it was a bit like the end of the world." Banai said music became an anchor for her at that time, giving her a place to hurt, be angry, express herself without thinking about consequences, miss him, and not feel alone.

Banai also addressed what it means to come from the Banai family, whose members have had public creative careers. She said, "Being part of the Banai family is like ten tons of gold. It is a blessing that comes with weight." She added that she is not driven by a music career, but by a need for expression, honesty, vulnerability, change, boundaries and movement.