MEET SAUD ALTURKI
Saud AlTurki is an up and coming artist who is taking the music industry in the MENA region by storm. He’s a music creator, curator, and founder of a record label company that is keen to shed light on our region's musical talents and embrace the brilliance of artists in our generation. He says that his inspiration to be part of the industry began early on in his life. “I have been inspired and moved by music ever since I could remember. At a young age, I found myself collecting records from different parts of the world. In 2010, I got into production. Once that happened, I fell in love with the process and never looked back.”
An engaging concept was Saud’s answer to being asked what his favorite project was, “I love all the records I put out to the world” he said, “It is like asking a parent who their favorite child is.” He also talked about the inspiration behind his fascinating album artworks, “The message I try to convey is that it is so important to be proud of where you come from and to represent your roots to the fullest.” Saud admits that his brothers Rex Chouk, and Marwan Shahin were not only the geniuses behind the artworks but also the aid in bringing Saud's visions to life.
During these troubling times with the COVID-19 outbreak, Saud expressed that the quarantine situation hasn’t impacted him much since he’s already used to sitting on a chair for countless hours as a producer. He also admitted, however, that the distance from artists has made the overall experience less thrilling, “At the end of the day, we have to find a way to stay inspired and keep creating.”
Saud said that some of the main pieces of advice he would give to his younger self just starting out, would be to learn the business side of the industry, educate himself on music theory, and the noble artists who have shaped the music industry we have today, and to understand the difference between inspiration and imitation, and lastly to not get discouraged over failure; “there is going to be a lot of ‘NOs’, don’t take any of them personally,” said Saud.
Something that both Saud and Fekr would like to see in the future is more of an emphasis on local support, “I am always very vocal about the topic of ‘more regional support’. I truly believe that if we want our region to thrive musically, we have to be the people supporting and pushing it.”