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Biography

About the artist
Michel Banabila, born 1961, Amsterdam, is a sound artist, composer, and producer. Banabila releases music since 1983 and has produced musical scores for numerous films, documentaries, theater plays and choreography. He worked / performed in The Netherlands, Poland, Lebanon, UK, South Africa, Russia, Japan, Spain, China, USA and Belgium. 

Music + collaborations
Banabila's work varies from minimal loop-based electronica, fourth world, and neo-classical pieces, to drones, experimental electronica and tribal ambient. In addition to acoustic instrumentation, Banabila uses electronics, field recordings, and snippets from radio, tv and internet. He collaborated with different types of artists like Alex HaasAnton Goudsmit, Beppe Costa, Cengiz Arslanpay, Cloud Ensemble, Eric Vloeimans, Erkan OğurGareth DavisHanyo van OosteromHolger CzukayJoshua SamsonMaarten VosMachinefabriekMaryana Golovchenko,  Mehmet PolatMete ErkerOene van GeelPeter Hollo, Pierre Bastien, Radboud MensSalar AsidSandhya Sanjana, Scanner, Willem CramerYaşar Saka, Zenial, among others.

Albums
Banabila has recorded many albums, including VoizNoiz (2000) and Spherics (2001), originally released by Steamin' Soundworks  (NL). These albums were internationally licensed to Tone Casualties  (USA) and Pork Recordings  (UK). BBC legend John Peel was the first one who played music from VoizNoiz in his show. Moreover, Banabila's tracks appeared in a mix by Osymyso (4AM Eternal - MixMag Magazine) and vinyl followed (Pork 081). In 2001 Banabila joined Holger Czukay's Linear City collaboration project, on the track Ten Steps To Heaven. Furthermore, his collaboration on VoizNoiz 3  (Challenge Records) with trumpet player Eric Vloeimans received the Edison Jazz Award in 2003. In 2005 Banabila started his own independent label Tapu Records. In 2008, Steamin' Soundworks released a 2CD compilation album, Precious Images,  that featured 10 years of Banabila's recordings. For the same publisher, Banabila was the producer and co-writer of the album Arhil, by Ali Bahia El Idrissi. The first track of this album was used for the Putumayo sampler Sahara Lounge. Banabila was also awarded with a composition stipend for the period of 2012 - 2013 by FPK, the Dutch Performing Arts Fund. His track E.T. was used in Boarding Pass, a mix by French renowned dj / producer Rone for Tsugi Magazine #66 in 2013. Later Gaspar Claus recorded this song on cello for his beautiful Tancade LP (E.T. Extra Terre Version). Banabila recorded six albums with electronica wizard Rutger Zuydervelt aka Machinefabriek (Banabila & Machinefabriek Travelog Error Log / Marcocosms / Entropia / A Looming Presence) and three albums with viola virtuoso Oene van Geel (Music for viola and electronics part I / part II / Live at Rewire - Whales Calling). Since 2014 he has experimented with a small modular set for his series Feedback + Modular + Radiowaves.  In 2016 / 2017 three reissues with recordings from the 80's came out ; (1) Chi - The Original Recordings (ambient) by Astral Industries (UK), (2) Things Popping Up From The Past  (Early Works) by Bureau B / Tapete Records (DE), and (3) a 2LP vinyl; Trespassing (one reissue - his first 1983 vinyl LP album 'Marilli', and one compilation - partly new works) by Séance Centre (CA). In 2018 Steamin' Soundworks reissued VoizNoiz part 1 as a 2LP vinyl album, including a new exclusive remix by Michel Banabila & Oene van Geel.  In 2019 Banabila self-released Uprooted, new work with contributions by Peter Hollo (cello), Gareth Davis (bass clarinet), Oene van Geel (viola & stroh violin), Gulli Gudmundsson (bass & ebow), Alex Haas (synth & electronics), and Stijn Hüwels (guitar & electronics). With Alex Haas he recorded The Woods, featuring Bill Laswell. Michel Banabila also performed on Sun Comes Out from Lithium (Sonicontinuum / 2020) by Alex Haas. In 2020 Banabila collaborated on the EP The Spaces You Hold with British composer and sound artist Robin Rimbaud7K! released Cassina, a new single by Michel Banabila & Machinefabriek, for the 2020 compilation Ambient Layers. In 2021 Bureau B released a new compilation, with more recent works by Banabila: Wah-Wah Whispers. In December 2021 Banabila made his debut on the Amsterdam based  Knekelhuis label, with his LP Echo Transformations. In 2023, Pingipung released Baba Soirée, an album showcasing his collaborations with Pierre Bastien. In June 2024 Knekelhuis releases Banabila's second LP for the label; Unspeakable Visions.

Other projects

Besides making albums and musical scores, Banabila works with theater, dance and visual art on more conceptual artistic projects. Banabila worked on various projects with video artists Geert MulOlga Mink,  and photographer Gerco de Ruijter. With Geert Mul he has an audiovisual set; Big Data Poetry, which they performed live in venues like The Barbican (London) during the Logan Symposium 2014, Yukunkun (Beirut) with vocalist Anas Maghrebi during the Global Week For Syria 2015, and TENT (Rotterdam) during Sound Spectrums 2012. With Olga Mink he performed at the LUX Festival (Sevilla), the VAD Festival (Girona)  and the State Of The Image Festival (Arnhem) in 2006. For Gerco de Ruijter he did sound design for several stop-frame animations, like the critically acclaimed Crops, shown in the Hirshhorn Museum (including a live performance -  Washington DC, 2013) and Ringdijk at Panorama Mesdag (The Hague / 2016). In 2017 Michel Banabila & Maarten Vos toured 4 months The Netherlands with HOME, a critically acclaimed dance performance by Conny Janssen Danst with live music. In May 2018, the San Francisco Ballet used Banabila's remixed version of Jump Cuts in Guernica, a choreography by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. In 2019 Banabila was commissioned by the Philadelphia Ballet to compose new work for Yin Yue and commissioned by Patrick O' Brien to compose work for the Patrick O'Brien Collective, with help from Cuny Dance. In 2023 Banabila was commissioned by BalletMet for scoring a choreography by Yin Yue (Timeless Tide) premiere at Asian Voices and by YYDC for scoring a choreography by Yin Yue (Somewhere), premiere at New York Live Arts (2024).

 

Bureau B / Wah-Wah Whispers

Disquiet / The Uprooted Orchestra

The Early Current interview

Flow State Interview

Headphone Commute interview

Junto Profile interview

Knekelhuis interview

Michel Banabila AllMusic bio

Séance Centre interview

 SCORES


Film & Documentary:

2023 - ARTEMIS - MARTIJN VELDHOEN
2021 - DESCENDING THE MOUNTAIN - MAARTJE NEVEJAN
2021 - LITTLE OX - RAF WATHION & PATRICK VANDE BROECK
2020 - KEIN GELOEL - DAVID KLEIJWEGT
2019 - HELDEN VAN HET MAXIMA - PAUL RIGTER
2018 - THE THIRSTY CITY CIUDAD MEXICO - ALEXANDER OEY
2018 - WAR CHILD KILI CHALLENGE: BEYOND MOUNTAINS - GABOR DEAK
2017 - PIETER ENGELS / HOLLANDSE MEESTERS - DAVID KLEIJWEGT
2017 - PORTRET IN BRONS - MAAIKE ENGELS
2015 - MEET ME IN VENICE  (with BEPPE COSTA) - EDDY TERSTALL
2014 - TIME AND PLACE, A TALK WITH MY MOM - MARTIJN VELDHOEN
2014 - SPEECHES - DAVID KLEIJWEGT
2013 - DE TECHMENS - BREGTJE VAN DER HAAK
2013 - LAST WORDS - KOERT DAVIDSE
2012 - CHINA ; VAN CARTIER NAAR CONFUCIUS - MARIJE MEERMAN
2011 - ONE FALSE MOVE - CLARA VAN GOOL & RIA MARKS
2011 - EEN AANZIENLIJKE RESERVE AAN BESCHAVING - ROB SCHRÖDER
2009 - GRAND PARIS - BREGTJE VAN DER HAAK
2009 - I AM GURGAON - MARIJE MEERMAN
2008 - IN REAL LIFE - ROBERT JAN WESTDIJK
2007 - ONZE JONGENS - BREGTJE VAN DER HAAK
2007 - SATELLITE QUEENS - BREGTJE VAN DER HAAK
2007 - HET APPELMOESMEISJE - MARIJE MEERMAN
2007 - MARTHA VONK GAAT NAAR ISTANBUL - HESTER OVERMARS
2006 - VLUCHT VAN DE VALK - CLAUDIA HAURI
2005 - SAMUAL - TAMI RAVID
2005 - STROOM - JORD DEN HOLLANDER
2004 - MAMA, PLEASE CALL ME - MARIJE MEERMAN
2004 - ST PETERSBURG, PLACES AND PAINTINGS - BEN VAN LIESHOUT
2004 - NEVER LET GO - CLAUDIA HAURI
1987 - CRAW AND CRAW (with WOUTER VELDHUIS) - BOB RUIJZENDAAL

Video:

2021 - HOME - CONNY JANSSEN DANST / DAVIDE BELLOTTA
2021 - FRAMED - CONNY JANSSEN DANST / DAVIDE BELLOTTA
2019 - A SENSE OF PLACE - NAN WANG
2019 - BREAKING POINT - NAN WANG
2019 - PAREIDOLIA - NAN WANG
2018 - SEINPOSTDUIN [52° 6'32.29"N / 4°16'34.73"O] - GERCO DE RUIJTER
2017 - SAND WANDERER - ERIC GIESSMANN
2017 - DISSOLVE - GERCO DE RUIJTER
2016 - RINGDIJK / DIKE RING - GERCO DE RUIJTER
2016 - GRID CORRECTIONS - GERCO DE RUIJTER
2014 - PLAYGROUND - GERCO DE RUIJTER
2013 - CROWDS (BIG DATA POETRY) - GEERT MUL
2013 - CROPS - GERCO DE RUIJTER
2013 - TERRA INCOGNITA - GERCO DE RUIJTER
2012 - EYES OF THE WITNESS - GEERT MUL
2011 - LETTING GO - GERCO DE RUIJTER
2010 - VOCAL VOID - GEERT MUL
2010 - COLLAPSUS - TOMMY PALLOTTA
2010 - JACKSON POLLOCK'S ROAD TRIP - GERCO DE RUIJTER
2009 - DUIZEL - MAAIKE ENGELS
2008 - A MOODY GUY'S AUDIBLE DREAM - GEERT MUL
2008 - VOICE PRINT - OLGA MINK
2008 - URBAN RHYTMICS - OLGA MINK
2008 - URBAN NATURE (& ERIC VLOEIMANS) - OLGA MINK
2007 - TRANSMIT / EFFENAAR LIVE - OLGA MINK
2005 - MATCH THE MOVIE - GEERT MUL
2004 - LOW PULSE & HIGH NOIZ - OLGA MINK & IRENA MIHALINEC
2003 - STRAIGHT 18 (RED CROSS) - MAAIKE ENGELS
1984 - CALISTO - DAVID CARCIA & ANNIE WRIGHT
1984 - sound for a video installation (at 'Luminous Image' Stedelijk Museum, A'dam) by MICHEL CARDENA


Theater:

michel banabila / theaterencyclopedie

 

Banabila live @ Re:source, Krakow 2013 (photo by Anna Spysz)

Banabila live @ Perifest, Deventer 2019 (photo by Jeroen Helle)