In, unpredictable and inspired ways, the Lebanese composer, producer and writer, Firas Abou Fakher, is determined to move beyond yielding, tolerant ideas of art production.
Firas Abou Fakher is a composer, producer, writer and director based in Beirut. His work has been considered a revolution in the artistic and cultural fields as he is setting benchmarks in how to create art and how to make some noise, especially in the Arab world.
A Modern Renaissance Man
Firas is most known for being the founder and composer of Lebanese indie-pop band Mashrou’ Leila. Since founding the band in 2008, they have gone on to achieve unprecedented global milestones: they were the first Arab artist to ever feature on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine and they have toured the world to sold out concerts in the most prestigious venues worldwide. They have collaborated with countless artists, from Roisin Murphy, to Brain Eno, Hercules and Love Affair, Banksy and more.
Aside from being their composer and producer, Firas is the designer and the creative director of the band’s striking visuals, set designs and sonic productions that have accompanied them to over 600 shows in the band’s career. In 2020, Firas composed and recorded a song with internationally acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the record is now a part of Yo-Yo Ma’s acclaimed album ‘Notes for the Future’. In addition, Firas performed at The MET New York in July 2019 alongside British artist Oliver Beer and in the first sound performance ever commissioned by the museum.
As a composer, Firas is trying to re-define the sound of film and TV scores in the region, working in diverse forms and a variety of ways, from building custom instruments and sounds to working with fully-fledged orchestras. Firas recently scored the critically-acclaimed Saudi Arabian TV series Jameel Jeddan (2022). A breakthrough series that has spearheaded the cultural shift in the youth of the region. His award-winning composing work includes: FIXER (2020), Al Shak (2020), Dunya’s Day (2020), Love (2019), Les Saints de Kiko (2019), Meshkal (2016) and many others.
In 2022, Firas wrote, directed and scored his first short film ‘It Gets Darker’, a horror-comedy shot on the border of Lebanon that deals with contemporary trauma and pressure in young adults in the Arab world. The short has already been selected to premier at Screamfest LA, one of the most renowned horror festivals in the world.
As an artist working on engaged art, Firas has been an artist in residence at NYU, giving a semester long graduate workshop. He has held many public talks: with Fred Moten at NYU, with the Narcissist at Concordia, at the Sciences Po in Paris, at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, at the ING- creatives forum in 2019, at the Swiss Foundation for Art in Regions of Conflict in Zurich, at the Art at Risk conference in Zurich, etc.
Since 2018, this artist is a member of the Recording Academy, New York Chapter.
In November 2019, he co-founded Last Floor Productions (LFP), a production house focused on telling original stories about contemporary Arab life in compelling, character-driven, genre fiction with an aim to dispel preconceptions and bring a diverse range of Arab voices into the global entertainment industry. As the creative director of the company, Firas collaborated with Apple in India, Victoria and Albert Museum’s Jameel Prize exhibition in the UK, Shahid (MBC Group). LFP has recently launched its own academy: Last Floor Academy, that offers tuition-free training to Arab TV show creators, with an aim to provide training and real-world skills to film and TV writers, enabling them to have sustainable careers in the industry.
As a humanitarian and social rights defender, Firas was an artist in residence at Greenpeace, campaigning for the use of solar energy across the Mediterranean. He has also participated in the BLOCK 9 & BANKSY Creative Retreat alongside Brian Eno, Roisin Murphy and more. He hosted concerts for supporting and fundraising Skoun (a Drug Prevention and Treatment NGO), Marsa (a Sexual Health NGO), Sawa for Dev & Aid (a Development and Aid for Syrian Displaced Communities NGO), etc.
Awards and recognitions
Firas Abou Fakher’s work has been recognized globally. He won various awards such as the Golden Palm Award Mexico IFF, the Award of Excellence Canada IFF, the Los Angeles Film Award, etc. Mashrou’ Leila’s song ‘Ibn El Leil’ won numerous worldwide awards and charted at number 13 on the Billboard World Charts. His video “Roman” was nominated for UK Music Video Award and his TV series “Al Shak” was long-listed for Best Shortform Series at the International Emmys.
Find some of Firas’s exquisite work here!