They became popular as writers of “peace songs” after a widely acclaimed song, There Must Be Another Way that singers and songwriters, Noa (Achinoam Nini) and Mira Awad performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009, when they represented Israel at the festival.
But the duo, who were in the capital along with Gil Dor (Noa’s partner and guitarist) recently to perform at the Delhi International Art Festival (DIAF), says that their songs are not necessarily about peace and harmony but more about a topic or issue that involves a larger number of people. “We have been writing songs since many years and have covered varied subjects. But somewhere the complexity of our surroundings somehow seeps in the sub-conscious mind and comes out in the songs we write,” says Noa, mentioning her widely popular song in Israel Shalom Shalom that happened instinctively.
Travelling across the world for events and concerts, many incidents influence them to write and compose a particular song. Before coming to Delhi, they were in Goa to be a part of the Think Festival and were really overwhelmed to know about the anti-corruption wave in India. “It helped us a lot to know about how recently the entire nation stood together to fight against corruption. It was really motivating. It will penetrate in a while and may be come out as a song,” says Mira, a songwriter and actress born to a Palestinian father and Bulgarian mother.
The duo says that they felt wonderful while performing in front of the Indian audience. Mira says that she was excited to come to India because she knows about the country where music and culture are looked up to. “We’ve performed at many places, but rarely have we got a response as positive as what we got in India, which is rich and diverse in culture and art,” she says.
They also admit being highly influenced by Indian mythology. “It’s akin to Greek mythology with great, epic characters like Krishna,” says Mira.
Indian songs and movies have also influenced them. Noa says that before she was born, Indian cinema was very popular in Israel. “My mom was really into Bollywood movies and later told me their stories,” she says and adds that when it comes to songs she has listened to Lata Mageshkar, Asha Bhonsle and Jagjit Singh, and finds them very good.
Mira can’t stop raving about Bollywood, and being an actress she even looks forward to working in Bollywood. “That would be so much fun,” she says and adds that it would be a pleasure if she gets a chance to work with Hrithik Roshan.