
While homebound during the pandemic, people are often turning to television and movies as a form of escapism. But creator, writer, and composer Firas Abou Fakher and the rest of the team behind the new acclaimed television series Al Shak ( the doubt ) did just the opposite, instead leaning into the very circumstances of the moment for its inspiration. The new show, available on the Middle East and North Africa's leading video-on-demand streaming platform, Shahid, was entirely created, written, and produced by a team that was working from home.
I wanted the starting point to be something familiar that everyone could recognize. The COVID-19 pandemic, which is at the heart of the mechanics of the show, is a global shared experience, Firas, who is known for his role in indie rock band Mashrou Leila, explained to For the Record.
Al Shak centers on a young woman named Samar who is isolated in her family's old house during lockdown. One day, she mistakenly logs into the wrong video chat and witnesses a murder. From there, through Samar's experience, the 10-episode psychological thriller explores themes of isolation and connection.
As with most thrillers, music is used in Al Shak to heighten and amplify the characters' moods throughout the show. The eerie and solemn soundtrack, which can be found on Spotify, also has an official copartnered, curated Spotify playlist to match. This playlist provides a unique, in-depth listening experience for fans-one that's been carefully designed to complement and support the series.
In order to create these types of playlists, Spotify's editors work alongside film and television showrunners, music supervisors, or composers to provide suggestions and guidance, as well as package the final product for fans. The copartnered Al Shak playlist, for example, was curated hand in hand with the show's team, including Firas. The playlist even took Firas' own inspiration for Al Shak's soundtrack into account.
I did a lot of research into the scores of psychological thrillers and horrors, from Bernard Hermann's work with Alfred Hitchcock to the work of John Carpenter to contemporary scores by Mica Levi, Colin Stetson, Bobby Krlic, and more, Firas said.
The playlist, therefore, includes Firas' compositions from the show's soundtrack, but also goes further, adding pieces from other composers, like John Williams and Thom Yorke, as well as songs from cult classic and more recent psychological thrillers and horror movies, like Psycho, Annihilation, and Midsommar.
The soundtrack also features a bit of whimsy-many of the sounds heard in the show are actually made from household items played like instruments. When combined with more traditional instrumentation, this creates emotional music that serves to highlight the show's thematic content.
I didn't have access to the studios, musicians, and orchestras that I usually do, said Firas. I tried to create musical instruments from the items around me that are usually seen as boring or mundane, creating drones, percussion, and even piano-like sounds from them. I wanted all this to help create the dark and lonely world our protagonist inhabits, even within a highly connected world. The tactile reality of these everyday found objects plays a big part in the world-building of the show.
Firas played on the lids of pots and pans with cello bows to create pads and drones-not that you'd ever know just from listening to the soundtrack. These could be played in a very musical way, or very menacingly, he said. I also used superball mallets to create what would become the signature sound of our antagonist by making metal trays talk.' I used lots of salt and pepper grinders, as well as wooden sticks and metal cutlery to create the percussion, and I used soft mallets on metal trays. Glass windows created a musical white noise' that I think is felt rather than heard. Several doors were slammed to create the deep thuds throughout. The neighbors were not happy.
By partnering with Spotify to create a customized playlist alongside the soundtrack, Firas can also look forward to insights our editors can provide (like unexpected regions that may stream the playlist). It's also a great avenue for discovery for fans of the show who may not know where to go after streaming the series, and for furthering artist discovery for the music community in the Middle East and North Africa.
Yet technology can't do everything. I am a big believer that the human touch in music is essential, adds Firas. Even a human bowing the lid of a pot can express the intention of a scene or a moment in a unique and powerful way.
The human touch-though something Samar's character may be missing in her life-is truly felt in every aspect of Al Shak, from its carefully crafted story to the creation of intricate homemade music to its origination during a time when many are staying home.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
16/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/01/2026
Graduate Spotlight: Nadia Castagna The educator, who grew up in Rochester, New York, shares how she went from Berklee to collaborating on meaningful programs ...
15/01/2026
Milano Cortina 2026: OBS CEO Yiannis Exarchos Previews Production InnovationsFirst Person View drones, AI-based tech target greater fan engagement, efficiencyBy...
15/01/2026
Clever with cameras: Bringing the drama of the 2026 ISU European Figure Skating ...
15/01/2026
No stranger to ice: Host broadcaster Sunset Vine on pressure and planning for th...
15/01/2026
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Leah Gill, Associate Athletic Director, Digital Media, ...
15/01/2026
National Sports Broadcaster Perspectives: What to Expect in Production in 2026Leaders from ESPN, FOX Sports, Netflix, and Warner Bros. Discovery share their pro...
15/01/2026
From Berlin to London: Amazon delivers NBA Europe games for an international aud...
15/01/2026
LOS ANGELES, CA, January 15, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announced the appointment of David Linde as Chief Executive Officer. Linde will assum...
15/01/2026
The SGL Carbon site in Bonn has a long tradition of training. For many years, young talent has been successfully trained here, regularly achieving excellent exa...
15/01/2026
The JEC Composites Innovation Awards annually honor the most innovative and ambi...
15/01/2026
X-energy Reactor Company, LLC ( X-energy ) and SGL Carbon LLC ( SGL ) have signed a 10-year framework agreement to provide graphite for the deployment of X-ener...
15/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
15/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
15/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
15/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
15/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
15/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
15/01/2026
RT is tonight announcing that Mari Hurley has decided to leave her role as RT 's Chief Financial Officer to take up a new position outside RT . Mari will r...
15/01/2026
15 Jan 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Reaches 3.0 million Customers with Starlink Dir...
15/01/2026
Views to free streaming service U grew by 15%, average monthly active users by 23% and registrations by 18%
UKTV's channels achieved record viewing share, ...
15/01/2026
Thursday 15 January 2026
Sky Sports to show Final Stage of inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup
Sky and FIFA have agreed an exclusive new partnership whi...
15/01/2026
Thursday 15 January 2026
The official trailer for the second season of Seth Mac...
15/01/2026
Wuppertal January 15, 2026
Riedel RefCam Takes Center Court in German Basketba...
15/01/2026
Back to All News
Nah Yung-suk Presents Take a Hike!' - A Snowy Reality Adv...
15/01/2026
Back to All News
Firebreak Premieres on Netflix February 20
Entertainment
15 January 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
DOWNLOAD THE FIRST LOOK IMA...
15/01/2026
Back to All News
The Variety, Voices, and Vision Shaping What's Next on Net...
15/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix and Sony Pictures Entertainment Enter New Pay-1 Deal W...
15/01/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today announced the nominees for th...
15/01/2026
Award-winning production solutions bridge traditional and next-generation workflows
FOR-A MixBoard
FOR-A IMPULSE
viztrick AiDi
MFR-3100EX...
15/01/2026
Arvato Systems Named Launch Partner for AWS European Sovereign Cloud
As a launch partner for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, Arvato Systems enables customer...
15/01/2026
NVIDIA kicked off the year at CES, where the crowd buzzed about the latest gaming announcements - including the native GeForce NOW app for Linux and Amazon Fire...
14/01/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 13th January, 2026 ITV, one of the UKs leading broadcasters, has selected Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), to ...
14/01/2026
Tech Focus: Audio Consoles, Part 2 - New Options for Virtual MixingA variety of solutions offer both technical and economic benefitsBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor
...
14/01/2026
Tech Focus: Audio Consoles, Part 1 - Key Component Evolves Toward the Totally Vi...
14/01/2026
SVG Summit 2025: Audio from Monday Workshops Now AvailableListen to sessions from Live Production Innovation, AI Production Tools, Cloud Production, Content Wor...
14/01/2026
The L3Harris large T7 robotic systems will provide U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines wi...
14/01/2026
Steiger Media's adoption of Calrec's compact Argo M console not only makes its innovative new hybrid truck faster, more efficient, and agile, but also e...
14/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
14/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
14/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
14/01/2026
Press Release: The Boston Globe Names Cartesian a Top Place to Work in 2025
January 14, 2026
News
Cartesian - January 14, 2026 - EINPresswire.com - Sp...
14/01/2026
Comscore and Marcus Theatres Announce Five-Year Extension for Cinema ACE and Ent...
14/01/2026
Comscore and Santikos Entertainment Announce Five-Year Circuit Wide Commitment t...
14/01/2026
January 14th, 2026
TRIBECA ANNOUNCES BEST NEW YORK SHORT AWARD FOR 25TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL
In Celebration of Its 25th Anniversary, Tribeca Introduces a N...
14/01/2026
Wednesday 14 January 2026
Sky News announces Cathy Newman to lead flagship new political programme
Sky News today announces that award-winning journalist and ...