Hamdi Benani ( ar, حمدي بناني; 1 January 1943 – 21 September 2020) was an Algerian singer and musician.

Biography

Benani was born in

Annaba Annaba ( ar, عنّابة, "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River ...

in 1943. His uncle, , encouraged him to start singing because of the quality of his voice and interpretive ability. He won his first prize while singing at the age of 16. He first gained notoriety in 1963 with the song ''Ya Bahi El Djamel'', which drove him to pursue a career in singing and violin. He brought new life to the Malouf genre of music with the tracks ''Mahbounati'' and ''Adala Ya Adala'', which earned him great public success. This helped him be noticed by senior members of the Malouf singing community, such as Hassen El Annabi,

Mohamed Tahar Fergani Mohamed Tahar Fergani (9 May 1928 – 7 December 2016) was an Algerian singer, violinist and composer, nicknamed the Nightingale of Constantine. Early life He was born in Constantine. Master of the Malouf music of Constantine. Mohamed Tahar Ferga ...

, and Abdelmoumène Bentobal. Benani was nicknamed "l'ange blanc" (The White Angel) because he was always seen in a white suit with his white violin. He helped modernize the Malouf genre by using ancestral themes alongside modern instruments and new themes in the texts. Benani's final work was a cooperation with

Folktronica Folktronica is a genre of music comprising various elements of folk music and electronica, often featuring uses of acoustic instruments – especially stringed instruments – and incorporating hip hop, electronic or dance rhythms, although ...

band

Speed Caravan Speed Caravan is a World music band from France and Algeria. Their music combines Ma'luf, Folktronica and Rock amongst others. History The band was founded in 2005 by half-Algerian half-French Oud-player Mehdi Haddab and bass player Pascal � ...

on recording their third album in 2020.

Death

Hamdi Benani died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in Annaba on 21 September 2020, aged 77, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria The COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Algeria in February 2020. In Decemb ...

References

External links

* 1943 births 2020 deaths Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria People from Annaba 20th-century Algerian male singers 21st-century Algerian people {{Africa-musician-stub