There are little moments when I was speaking with Skydaddy — the recent moniker of London-based artist Rachid Fakhre — that I realized how the gears in his brain are primed for experimentation. Whether it’s in his descriptions of a “buzzed guitar solo” to start the live performances of the track “Lebanon Rising” or his use of “dueling clarinets” in a recent show with a nine person band, Skydaddy faces musical challenges with a cool nonchalance. In the age of small venues closing, fading usage of vintage equipment, and the increasingly complex logistics of touring, there is plenty to be anxious about. While that undeniable anxiety did peek through several times in our interview, talk of musical innovation for Skydaddy’s timeless rock style remained constant, making one thing clear: Skydaddy makes music for every uncertain future.

“I’m not as good on the piano,” Fakhre admitted. He paused and thought for a moment before continuing, “so I find it’s actually easier to write songs [on the piano], and I’m less stuck on old habits.” With a turn toward quick, marketable content in the music industry, Fakhre’s songwriting thrives in experimentation and patience. Skydaddy is a project with an auteur approach, and Fakhre seems to enact his vision from beginning to end.

The recording process is one area where Fakhre makes sacrifices to bring his vision to life as Skydaddy. From a Mellotron to a Neumann U47, Fakhre is confident about the sound of analog equipment, in a way that’s unfortunately fallen out of fashion in the mainstream. “That’ll never die,” Fakhre declares. “Valve amplification…There’s nothing like it. I don’t know if we’ll ever truly get there digitally.” As a self-described “ardent Luddite,” there is a sense of reflection not solely in Fakhre’s instrumentation, but in his lyricism as well. It’s a reflection necessary to growth both musically and personally for Fakhre, who has legitimate concerns for defining progress in the modern age.

The title of the upcoming Skydaddy record Anchor Chains, Plane Motors, and Train Whistles speaks to Fakhre’s critiques of modernity. The line is taken straight from the mouth of George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life. “I’d say I love [It’s A Wonderful Life], especially because I don't relate to George Bailey in the face, he’s so different,” Fakhre told me. George Bailey’s three favorite sounds, noted in the project's title, are the marching of progress; they are the drive of business, industry, and capital. That was the 1940s, and Fakhre’s title Anchor Chains, Plane Motors, and Train Whistles, at once a progressive phrase, feels nostalgic now. It’s A Wonderful Life is sentimental and reflective with its examination of George Bailey, but Fakhre notes that sentimentality is what no one, himself included, can seem to let go of.

“I always, always shed a tear at the end [of It’s a Wonderful Life]. I think everyone has a different point…in which they shed a tear at the end, and mine is when [George] reads the note from Clarence, saying ‘No man is a failure who has friends,” Fakhre said. In his quaint apartment near the English seaside, Fakhre glanced out the window and rubbed the place where his glasses met his sideburn as he recalled the path of George Bailey. It seemed like out the window, he saw the monopolies of ignorant business moguls like Mr. Potter waiting behind the veil of “progress” that’s been sold.

On January 10, 2025, Fakhre will release Anchor Chains, Plane Motors, and Train Whistles. It comes less than a year after his acclaimed debut, Pilot. Reflecting on the process, Fakhre mentioned, “I was kind of overly mystifying the notion of what an album has to be.” The proximity of the records led to a blend of themes that shines especially bright during live performances. When releasing Pilot, Fakhre said, “[I] really wanted to get a body of work out. So I didn't want to wait until the whole album was ready.”

Since tracks like “Mushrooms” and “Lebanon Rising” blend well thematically but fall on separate records, Fakhre uses live performances to bring them cohesion that release schedules don’t provide. Both tracks relate to Fakhre’s Lebanese identity, with “Mushrooms” using graphic storytelling to depict the bleak chemical explosion at a Beirut port on August 4, 2020. Intermingling the songs in live performances allows Fakhre to explore the tragedy and give new context to “Lebanon Rising,” without expanding the tracks into a concrete, shared record.

“The band kind of changes almost every show,” Fakhre asserts. This leads to shifting instruments, roles, sounds, setlists, and show lengths. Skydaddy’s set at The 100 Club, an iconic London venue, saw him playing through Pilot and Anchor Chains, Plane Motors, and Train Whistles in a staggered order. With an eight piece band, Skydaddy performed a set marked by intimate moments and fresh material. The mixed setlist highlighted Pilot’s eccentricities, such as the synths on “Everything” and the buildup of “That Morning,” while shedding light on the more dynamic rock songs on the upcoming record.

However, the main driver of Skydaddy’s recent output is not only catharsis and clarity in sound: lyricism is playing an increasingly potent role as well. Fakhre recently curated a “Works in Progress” night at Sinfonia Smith Square Hall, bringing together breakout acts across the London arts community. At the piano, his fingers bounced between chords that shared a free flowing, wistful quality that is consistent across Skydaddy songs. However, the lyrics of the unreleased work Skydaddy performed to kick the event off felt uniquely refined. “On and on and on, ‘til it starts again/ ‘til the color’s gone from your mama’s face/ raining gifts for all the human race,” Skydaddy sang over the rising chords, sounding grand on the resounding piano.

“And when that comes first [...] When you’re building chords around [lyrics],” Fakhre asserts, “there’s nothing more powerful than, you know, actually feeling passionate about what you’re singing about.” It’s a simple notion that many have lost to twenty second Instagram reel snippets, and there’s few ways to address the issue without sounding cheesily nostalgic or hateful. Fakhre highlighting his own process as Skydaddy, where he grows songs from intimate piano ballads to gorgeous full-band pieces — but retains the beauty and honesty of his lyrics — is a recipe for authentic catharsis that basks in patient songwriting. While it may be hard to maintain a Luddite outlook on the world without appearing “cringe,” the formation of Fakhre’s process and his work with the London arts community feels like a potential answer. In drawing on experimentation in live performances, patient songwriting, local camaraderie, and personal lyricism, Fakhre balances the needs of his own process with the constant call for new material.

It all seems to be about balance for Fakhre. As a self-described “pessimist” in the face of progress, Fakhre has to reconcile with the hypocritical nature of his position: even as streaming and online growth allows him to grow with a global audience, he remains tired of defining progress by the internet’s standards. So, how does Fakhre reconcile the gaps in his beliefs, such as the space between the march of “progress” and his personal morals, between his patient creative process and mainstream success, between musical honesty and more complex truths? The answer isn’t hopeful, but it’s balanced and honest:

“You just have to disconnect from everything and just look at it and realize, you know, the world is still the world: it’ll keep spinning around. The secret might be to just be more mindful.”

Authentically Skydaddy, Fakhre doesn’t care about being judged as a pessimist. No matter the future of music, Rachid Fakhre will be making music, and I’ll be listening…mindfully. You should too.

And sometimes, it’s that simple.

Skydaddy is releasing Anchor Chains, Plane Motors, and Train Whistles on January 10, 2025. The recent single for this record, “Allicin,” is out now. He is touring the UK through January and early February 2025, but is planning more dates as well, so be on the lookout. You can stay updated by finding Skydaddy on Instagram @mrskydaddy, or by attending a show.

Skydaddy and Musical Catharsis in the Modern Age