Skydaddy

Skydaddy, the moniker of London-born Lebanese/Grenadian artist, Rachid Fakhre, has today (21 Nov) shared a new single ‘Allicin’, taken from his upcoming EP Anchor Chains, Plane Motors & Train Whistles releasing 10 January via his own Fakhre’s label Bathtime Sounds.

Whilst gigging around various houses, bars and clubs in LA as part of duo Crydaddy (Skydaddy and Black Country, New Road’s Tyler Hyde’s solo moniker, Tyler Cryde) Fakhre recorded ‘Allicin’, the only EP track to not have its origins in the UK and serves as the EPs singular love song. Charlie Daniels, an engineer at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, opened up the studio to Skydaddy, where Fakhre recorded ‘Allicin’, a song he’d written 3 years before

‘Allicin’ contains all the hallmarks of upcoming EP Anchor Chains, Plane Motors & Train Whistles, as finger-picked guitars gently dissolve into swelling strings and flute. The seemingly sweet song ebbs and flows with feelings of tension and release, whilst in true Skydaddy fashion, wry lyrics of being crushed like a clove of garlic, wait to be interpreted in all manner of ways.

Speaking on his new single, Skydaddy offers:

“‘Allicin’ is a love song. I was inspired by the sound world of Jessica Pratt’s album ‘On Your Own Love Again’. Allicin is the chemical compound secreted when crushing garlic cloves. I recorded it at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles with the engineer Charlie Daniels controlling the ancient tape machine on to which we were recording. I recorded piano, bass, vocals and guitars there in one day (with some additional guitar work by Tyler). Returning to the UK, we recorded the intro swell at The Crypt studio with myself on drums, Tyler on bass and Felicity on flute. I then had Jules Gibbons overdub electric guitar swells over the song.”

Skydaddy’s upcoming EP Anchor Chains, Plane Motors & Train Whistles serves as the follow up to February 2024 mini-album Pilot. The title of the new EP is taken from the mouth of George Bailey of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, the words symbolise a blind faith in technological advancement. Even a century on, these sound images denote grandeur and expanse. This is what Skydaddy wanted to achieve in the sound of this forthcoming record: a surrendering of being tied to the old world and an exploration of modern anxieties. Being his favourite film, it is apt that a source of such sentimentality,

Following the success of Pilot, Fakhre began to work with. Balasz Altsach (Katy J Pearson, Broadside Hacks, Ugly, Dave, Central Cee), with the pair working together at Church Studios in London. Fakhre assembled an ensemble of some of London’s most exciting new acts to sing in the choir including members of Back Country New Road, Tapir!, Ugly, Ethan P Flynn & Silver Gore.

George Bailey’s words ironically echo over the EP’s closing reprise - the singular moment of intimate, unpolished bedroom exotica.

Anchor Chains, Plane Motors & Train Whistles Track List

Age Of Empires

Albert Bridge

Allicin

Mushrooms

Age (Reprise)

Skydaddy began life in early 2023 as an offshoot of his previous acclaimed project Spang Sisters. Before releasing any music, there was a buzz around the new project in the London scene - 2 weeks before Fakhre released his first single, ‘That Morning’, he toured the UK with his 7-piece backing band supporting Black Country, New Road. Following that, he spent the rest of that year releasing singles - including ‘Tear Gas’ a collaboration with BC, NR’s Tyler Hyde - that  eventually became part of his debut mini-album Pilot.

2 February 2024, the release quickly garnered Skydaddy a reputation for creating unparalleled, beautiful chamber folk and an extraordinary live show. The songs on Pilot demonstrated his compositional prowess and ambitious production and arrangements. As Clash wrote, “‘Pilot’ is a reclamation of the multi-instrumentalist’s Lebanese heritage… careening between ambient-jazz sound collages, marathon orchestral codas and oblique confessionals”. Fakhre took his show on the road on a UK-wide headline tour soon after Pilot’s release, selling out shows in Edinburgh, Brighton and Bristol, finishing with a headline at London’s 100 Club.