Féras Chatila: The Creative Mind Behind “Many Years”.
Between studying media design and working on musical projects, the 20-year-old artist released his first solo song “Many Years” that managed to mesmerize everybody with its groovy beat and his exquisitely soothing voice and, since then, it has been fascinating to know all about how he got into music, his inspiration and the making of the song.
How It All Began
As an adolescent, Féras has always been passionate about music and singing for as long as he can remember, but he didn’t pay too much attention to it until he joined Vine in 2014, where he saw people making singing vines. It was only then that he decided to give it a try. Within the same year, Féras branched out to YouTube, covering songs on YouTube regardless of how worried he was about the reaction of the people around him upon doing it. However, they were actually encouraging. Having received support and wholesome feedback on his talent, Féras felt immediately better. He didn’t care anymore about what people had to say.
Two years later, fueled with the same great passion for music, Féras started making original songs around 2016, but it didn’t really satisfy him, not until he started producing rather than just singing in 2018~early 2019. As Féras started producing, he figured out how essential it is to him to fully produce his own tracks, regarding self-expression and identifying his own, unique sound. It’s noticeable that his vocals aren’t usually the priority in his tracks, and that’s implemented in the heavy reverb on them, the lack of vocals in certain parts, et cetera. He even said that, in the future, some tracks won’t even have vocals! Féras is still working on fully producing tracks on his own, but for right now he’s producing 60%-70% of his tracks, then sends them over to other producers so that every track reaches its full potential. Although he wants to produce all of his tracks by himself, he fancies the collaborative process, nonetheless!
Afterwards, Féras decided to major in media design, since it will help him in his future career as a musician and an artist. Not only that, but it will also provide him with the required information to deal with different media mediums. After knowing that, I couldn’t help but wonder, “could someone be any more talented?” Until I heard more of what Féras had to say; he’s always been interested in directing and storytelling and is going to major in media design. Starting to score short movies recently, he figured out it’s probably his new passion besides music. For Féras, It’s a middle ground between film and music.
Throughout Féras Chatila's wonderful journey, he cherishes becoming a perfectionist the most. Not to the point where it negatively affects him, but just enough to make the utmost amount of effort and pouring it all into his work to deliver a track as great as “Many Years.”
Lastly, I can’t end this without thanking you, Féras, and saying that I was really pleasured to talk to you about your dreams, work, and newly released song. I was really inspired and I'm still amazed by how talented you are. Wishing you lots of luck and success in the future!
"I was sort of challenging myself and, surprisingly, some people were pretty supportive. Since then, I started being more confident and I started being really passionate about music. I was happy that I was expressing myself in a certain way.”
Afterwards, Féras decided to major in media design, since it will help him in his future career as a musician and an artist. Not only that, but it will also provide him with the required information to deal with different media mediums. After knowing that, I couldn’t help but wonder, “could someone be any more talented?” Until I heard more of what Féras had to say; he’s always been interested in directing and storytelling and is going to major in media design. Starting to score short movies recently, he figured out it’s probably his new passion besides music. For Féras, It’s a middle ground between film and music.
“Studying design definitely helped me with my creative process. I learned that you don’t have to wait for inspiration. You must throw around a bunch of ideas, even if they totally suck, until something sticks out.”
His Creative Process
The young musician then told us about his creative process, what he normally does during the making of a song. Turns out Féras follows no other than the trial and error method, along with applying certain principles he has acquired. It usually starts with him messing around with his keyboard, or having a certain rhythm stuck in his head. However, once he grasps a solid idea, he starts building on it. Having been working that way for some time now, nothing has really changed except his perception of music theory, which is something that’s definitely growing with time. In addition, he’s learning to play the guitar and keyboard for how fundamental this is throughout the production process.The Inspiration Behind Many Years
Now onto the song “Many Years,” Féras Chatila's first solo song. He has already released a lot of songs before, but "Many Years" is his fresh start to a brand-new beginning, as he has been working on rebranding himself by taking down all of his previous work. The inspiration behind the song was a personal experience our artist has gone through, one that he never knew would be his new and authentic start. The track is mainly focused on how someone’s departure from our lives can affect us significantly, yet we can still cherish the good times we spent with that person. As you all can see, a lot of situations we go through can be our new beginnings, and for Féras it was his own special creation which he was very proud of!“When people fade away from your life you don’t have to forget them to move on, but rather appreciate the memories”
How It Was Made
So, that was what inspired the song. Wonder how he made the song? Well, that couldn’t be skipped. “Many Years” originated from a very simple melody that can be heard at the very beginning of the song. Then, Féras started building onto it. After writing the lyrics and recording a demo, he sent the demo to Gram Ash (a producer) and they started to discuss their vision of the track’s sound. When they were done with everything, Féras recorded the vocals and sent the track out to Ahmed Elian who mixed, mastered and co-produced the track.What’s Next?
Like the determined, diligent character he is, Féras has already envisioned his next steps in the long run, which revolve around turning his passion into a career. Dealing with different forms of art has made it hard for Féras to pick a specific career, but for now, he wants to settle for a musical career or maybe a career in the filmmaking industry. He would like to make musical projects and collaborate with his favourite artists like Kevin Parker, Frank Ocean, Thundercat, Kikagaku Moyo, maybe even Thom Yorke, and many many more. He also has a vision for how he wants his music to be; more experimental, which would enable him to try various genres, from psychedelic rock to shoegaze and dream-pop, to art-rock and a bit of electronica. And surely, he’s not leaving songwriting out of this, where he will work on improving it. Féras wants to make music that certain people can relate to and feel empowered by, he’s not there yet, but he’s already on the right track and striving for it. In his point of view, being completely independent is making it difficult for him to delve into these styles, putting in mind that he’s still new to fully producing music and learning how to play the guitar. You see, music was never just a “hobby” for Féras, it has always been deeper.“Music is the only thing that genuinely makes me happy. I don’t want to sound corny and say ‘music saved my life,’ but it really did. It’s the only way I can express myself to the world and it cures my long ss to an extent- not fully- but it helps me go through my loneliness”
Throughout Féras Chatila's wonderful journey, he cherishes becoming a perfectionist the most. Not to the point where it negatively affects him, but just enough to make the utmost amount of effort and pouring it all into his work to deliver a track as great as “Many Years.”
Lastly, I can’t end this without thanking you, Féras, and saying that I was really pleasured to talk to you about your dreams, work, and newly released song. I was really inspired and I'm still amazed by how talented you are. Wishing you lots of luck and success in the future!
“Many Years” by Féras Chatila is now out on all platforms! And you can check out the lyrics here: https://genius.com/Feras-chatila-many-years-lyrics