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El Far3i on his return to Jordan and a future album
The Jordanian rapper recently returned to the Kingdom for multi-city tour, after a two-year absence due to the pandemic
By Batool Almasri and Nouha Maaninou, Jordan News
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IRBID/AMMAN — International singer “El Far3i” recently returned to his home country of Jordan for a multi-city tour, where he talked about life after COVID, his upcoming album, and local talent.اضافة اعلان
After a two-year absence from Jordan, the singer, songwriter, and guitarist Tarek Abu Kwaik, known to fans as "El Far3i," came and performed several concerts as part of a Jordanian tour that took him to several cities and artistic spaces.
“The feeling of returning to singing on stage is so beautiful. I see the audience happy to go out and attend the concert and forget the pressures we went through, even for a short time,” El Far3i told Jordan News before his Irbid concert on August 9.
Originally from Amman, (one of his most famous songs is "Tghayarti" (2016), which was written about his hometown,) El Far3i now lives in London.
"The city I grew up in is a big part of who I am, regardless of my origins. No matter how much we try to deny this, the older we get, the more we realize that we are a product of our society and our immediate environment,” he said. “Singing to my city makes me feel like I'm singing to everyone, to my family, and to my childhood, it is the most honest person that I can be”.
“I've been away from Jordan for two years, and I haven't seen my family since then," he said. “Since we haven't been to concerts lately, and people are thirsty for concerting, we thought it was a good idea and started working on it right away.”
“Although it is tiring, the feeling of returning to singing on stage is so beautiful. I see the audience happy to go out and attend the concert and forget the pressures we went through, even for a short time,” El Far3i said.
Due to the lockdown last year, El Far3ri, like many other artists, had to cancel his tour that was supposed to take place in March 2020. “I handled it like most people do. The epidemic stopped everyone's business, and we started thinking about what would happen if the situation became like this forever, and some of us started looking for other sources of money."
He further explained that as a musician time off touring means extra time to produce, write, and work on music.
“The creativity increased inside me whenever I felt pressured. At that time, I was working on a rap album that I released in February of last year, as well as on an album that will be released soon,” he said. “I do not mean that all the songs were created only during the pandemic period, but they were present in the form of separate sketches, and I collected them during that period."
The pandemic also encouraged El Far3i to test out online concerts. An experience the rapper said was tiring, as it took about two months of work.
However, the concert did draw around 700 fans. El Far3i said: “It was pretty daunting, but that experience assured us that it was 'doable'.”
Jordanian artists El Far3i is pictured at a concert in Irbid on August 9, 2021. The rapper recently spoke to Jordan News about returning to the country after a 2-year hiatus. (Photo: Handouts from El Far3i)
One of El Far3i fans present after his concert in Irbid said: “I've been a fan of El Far3i for several years, and this is the third concert I've attended, one of them was the online concert last year” Yazan Harb.
“Although we enjoyed the online concert, the return to the live performances is much better,” Harb said. “El Far3i was interacting with the audience through the comments on the online concert platform, but seeing him on the stage is completely different, and this concert brought us back the feelings of enthusiasm we used to feel for pre-pandemic concerts.” Harb said.
He added: “The best thing about this time is that he presents his concerts in more than one city. It is his first time in Irbid. Previously, we had to go to Amman to be able to see him.”
El Far3i has so far been a part of five studio albums and the sixth album is expected to be out by the end of this year.
The upcoming album, titled "People of Wood" will be a part of the Wood Trilogy, which started in 2012 with "Voice of Wood," and then added "The Wooden Man" in 2017. The last album in the series is expected to be released on February 17, 2022 and marks 10 years since the “Wooden” experience started.
“The experience was just me and the wooden guitar doing my own songs, and seeing the effect it had on people. Some of the songs became popular later, and some became popular right after their release” El Fa3ri said.
The album will consist of 12 songs, of which two were previously released as singles. “People may not have felt the connection between the first two albums, but the next album will show this more clearly, and the series will complete and end here,” he said.
El Fa3ri’s manager of 10 years, Mohamad Khrousheh, told Jordan News: "El Far3i loves to expand, he seeks change instead of stagnation and believes in it.”
"He always has new ideas, new melodies and beats. For example, he started with old school rap, but keeps on bringing new beats and innovating. In the rap album he released in February this year, you can find auto tune, but also new school rap songs," Khrousheh said.
From his upcoming new album, the rapper announced that the single "Mertaha" was finally recorded in studio and will be out on August 20.
“I wrote (‘Mertaha’) a long time ago before ‘Tghayarti.’ When I wrote it, I was trying to compose a song that wasn't mine, to give it to another singer to perform, but that didn't happen. I used to feel that the song was bigger than me, but now I finally feel that I can do it, I can sing it,” El Fa3ri said.
“I had the feeling that this song would be the closest to people's hearts, but ‘Tghayarti’ was released before it, and it became very popular. I've always felt that ‘Mertaha’ was the missing link” Abu Kwaik said. “I hope people can listen to ‘Mertaha’ in a way that makes it a prequel to ‘Tghayarti,’ and that they understand what I am trying to convey through this song."
Although he is known as a rapper. El Fa3ri started out playing drums. After that, he began the solo project "El Far3i", and in 2009 he started working with the Jordanian band "El Morabba3", before joining the Palestinian band "47Soul" in 2013, with whom he is still active.
And despite 47Soul being of Palestinian origin, El Far3i and the band have performed in many shows throughout Europe.
The artist also collaborates with local talent, and on possible future collaborations, he mentioned names like Zaid Khaled, Idrissi, Haikal, and Daken.
When asked if he has any advice for young artists in Jordan or Palestine, El Far3i said that success is not about chasing trends or collecting views and likes, explaining that a musician who follows trends, simply disappears when that trend ends.
“You can take advantage of a trend with its musical value; you can take advantage of about 65 percent of it, but you always have to come back to yourself,” El Far3i said.
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After a two-year absence from Jordan, the singer, songwriter, and guitarist Tarek Abu Kwaik, known to fans as "El Far3i," came and performed several concerts as part of a Jordanian tour that took him to several cities and artistic spaces.
“The feeling of returning to singing on stage is so beautiful. I see the audience happy to go out and attend the concert and forget the pressures we went through, even for a short time,” El Far3i told Jordan News before his Irbid concert on August 9.
Originally from Amman, (one of his most famous songs is "Tghayarti" (2016), which was written about his hometown,) El Far3i now lives in London.
"The city I grew up in is a big part of who I am, regardless of my origins. No matter how much we try to deny this, the older we get, the more we realize that we are a product of our society and our immediate environment,” he said. “Singing to my city makes me feel like I'm singing to everyone, to my family, and to my childhood, it is the most honest person that I can be”.
“I've been away from Jordan for two years, and I haven't seen my family since then," he said. “Since we haven't been to concerts lately, and people are thirsty for concerting, we thought it was a good idea and started working on it right away.”
“Although it is tiring, the feeling of returning to singing on stage is so beautiful. I see the audience happy to go out and attend the concert and forget the pressures we went through, even for a short time,” El Far3i said.
Due to the lockdown last year, El Far3ri, like many other artists, had to cancel his tour that was supposed to take place in March 2020. “I handled it like most people do. The epidemic stopped everyone's business, and we started thinking about what would happen if the situation became like this forever, and some of us started looking for other sources of money."
He further explained that as a musician time off touring means extra time to produce, write, and work on music.
“The creativity increased inside me whenever I felt pressured. At that time, I was working on a rap album that I released in February of last year, as well as on an album that will be released soon,” he said. “I do not mean that all the songs were created only during the pandemic period, but they were present in the form of separate sketches, and I collected them during that period."
The pandemic also encouraged El Far3i to test out online concerts. An experience the rapper said was tiring, as it took about two months of work.
However, the concert did draw around 700 fans. El Far3i said: “It was pretty daunting, but that experience assured us that it was 'doable'.”
Jordanian artists El Far3i is pictured at a concert in Irbid on August 9, 2021. The rapper recently spoke to Jordan News about returning to the country after a 2-year hiatus. (Photo: Handouts from El Far3i)
One of El Far3i fans present after his concert in Irbid said: “I've been a fan of El Far3i for several years, and this is the third concert I've attended, one of them was the online concert last year” Yazan Harb.
“Although we enjoyed the online concert, the return to the live performances is much better,” Harb said. “El Far3i was interacting with the audience through the comments on the online concert platform, but seeing him on the stage is completely different, and this concert brought us back the feelings of enthusiasm we used to feel for pre-pandemic concerts.” Harb said.
He added: “The best thing about this time is that he presents his concerts in more than one city. It is his first time in Irbid. Previously, we had to go to Amman to be able to see him.”
El Far3i has so far been a part of five studio albums and the sixth album is expected to be out by the end of this year.
The upcoming album, titled "People of Wood" will be a part of the Wood Trilogy, which started in 2012 with "Voice of Wood," and then added "The Wooden Man" in 2017. The last album in the series is expected to be released on February 17, 2022 and marks 10 years since the “Wooden” experience started.
“The experience was just me and the wooden guitar doing my own songs, and seeing the effect it had on people. Some of the songs became popular later, and some became popular right after their release” El Fa3ri said.
The album will consist of 12 songs, of which two were previously released as singles. “People may not have felt the connection between the first two albums, but the next album will show this more clearly, and the series will complete and end here,” he said.
El Fa3ri’s manager of 10 years, Mohamad Khrousheh, told Jordan News: "El Far3i loves to expand, he seeks change instead of stagnation and believes in it.”
"He always has new ideas, new melodies and beats. For example, he started with old school rap, but keeps on bringing new beats and innovating. In the rap album he released in February this year, you can find auto tune, but also new school rap songs," Khrousheh said.
From his upcoming new album, the rapper announced that the single "Mertaha" was finally recorded in studio and will be out on August 20.
“I wrote (‘Mertaha’) a long time ago before ‘Tghayarti.’ When I wrote it, I was trying to compose a song that wasn't mine, to give it to another singer to perform, but that didn't happen. I used to feel that the song was bigger than me, but now I finally feel that I can do it, I can sing it,” El Fa3ri said.
“I had the feeling that this song would be the closest to people's hearts, but ‘Tghayarti’ was released before it, and it became very popular. I've always felt that ‘Mertaha’ was the missing link” Abu Kwaik said. “I hope people can listen to ‘Mertaha’ in a way that makes it a prequel to ‘Tghayarti,’ and that they understand what I am trying to convey through this song."
Although he is known as a rapper. El Fa3ri started out playing drums. After that, he began the solo project "El Far3i", and in 2009 he started working with the Jordanian band "El Morabba3", before joining the Palestinian band "47Soul" in 2013, with whom he is still active.
And despite 47Soul being of Palestinian origin, El Far3i and the band have performed in many shows throughout Europe.
The artist also collaborates with local talent, and on possible future collaborations, he mentioned names like Zaid Khaled, Idrissi, Haikal, and Daken.
When asked if he has any advice for young artists in Jordan or Palestine, El Far3i said that success is not about chasing trends or collecting views and likes, explaining that a musician who follows trends, simply disappears when that trend ends.
“You can take advantage of a trend with its musical value; you can take advantage of about 65 percent of it, but you always have to come back to yourself,” El Far3i said.
Read more Trending
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