TheFatRat Drops “Sail Away” [Interview]

Gaming music legend and independent artist, TheFatRat, popularly known for his immense online following of over ten million fans, kicks off 2024 strong with the release of “Sail Away.” The energetic trance anthem features vocals from singer/songwriter Laura Brehm and builds on the themes of hope and courage from his most recent release “Escaping Gravity.”

“”Sail Away” is about the excitement of actually taking the leap. [It] speaks to anyone who has ever looked up at the night sky and felt the pull of the unknown. It’s a song for dreamers, adventurers, and anyone who believes in limitless possibilities.” – TheFatRat

With his first release of 2024, the go-to-artist for Esports brands like ESL and Dreamhack has delivered another exciting and optimistic song that features lyrics about dreaming big and daring to pursue the impossible. “Sail Away” is a blast of nostalgia as it contains some lively production elements inspired by TheFatRat’s European dance scene roots with its powerful synthesizer riff. As the song begins, a gentle electronic beat paired with the hypnotic vocals draws you in before the beat builds into a spirited drop with its synths and hard hitting drums. TheFatRat’s production prowess and the enchanting vocals from Laura Brehm blend together perfectly to deliver a euphoric and uplifting experience.

“Sail Away” is available now on all digital streaming platforms and is free to use on digital platforms like YouTube and Twitch, true to TheFatRat’s tradition of making his songs available for creators without the hassle of demonetization.

Nocturnal Times: Thanks for joining us at The Nocturnal Times! We’d love to know more about your start as a musician. Early on in your career, was there a moment that initially sparked your passion for music production?

TheFatRat: I can say that my passion developed over time. If you’re searching for your own passion, it’s probably not your passion right away. It’s probably something that you have to develop. I already loved making music before I started music production, and I wanted to become a conductor, but I realized it wasn’t creative enough. So I thought, “What would be the equivalent of a conductor today? What is something that is more creative?” And I thought, “Okay, music producer might be it.” So I bought a lot of equipment, because it was the year 1999, and you couldn’t just produce great music on a laptop, you had to get equipment. So I invested a lot of money into equipment and had no idea what to do with it. I just kept going for years and years and years without any success. I slowly got better, and it slowly developed into something that I was really passionate about.

Nocturnal Times: How would you describe your signature sound to listeners?

TheFatRat: I have a really hard time describing it. I have to do it once in a while when I meet new people and I explain to them what I’m doing. They ask me, “What kind of music do you make?” I usually describe it as “Gaming Music,” which is music that is rooted in the culture of gaming, but I always recommend that people simply listen to it. Because whenever I describe the kind of music I make, and then later people listen to it, they’re like, “Oh, okay, now I get it. I had something completely different in mind.” So yeah, I think it’s better for people to listen, rather than explain it.

Nocturnal Times: Congratulation on your first release of the year, “Sail Away” with Laura Brehm! You must be thrilled to share it with your fans. How excited are you about this release and kicking the year off strong?

TheFatRat: I’m very excited, especially because I’m committed to releasing more songs this year. I sometimes tend to get a little lost in the process. But I’ve found a very good way now to have a steady flow of releases. So I’m aiming to release 10 songs this year and I’m quite far with a lot of them already. So I’m very, very excited to put out more music this year.

Nocturnal Times: What sets “Sail Away” apart/makes it unique from some of your previous songs?

TheFatRat: It’s pretty much a trance song, a genre I’ve never released before. I made some trance/Eurodance when I was ghost producing for other DJs and other projects, back in the early 2000s But I’ve never released something like that as ‘TheFatRat. It was sort of like time travel for me. The sounds and the drums for example, but also the sound programming and mixing were like my very very early production days. So I really enjoyed that.

Nocturnal Times: What can you tell people about your creative process when working with Laura Brehm on a song like this?

TheFatRat: The creative process when I work on a song like this with Laura, is very painful for her. Because, I usually write the entire song including the lyrics, and then I record a very ugly, horrible sounding demo with myself singing a female voice with a German accent. I then send it over to Laura for her to record it with a better voice. So the positive part for Laura, is that it’s pretty easy for her to sound better than the demo. But the hard part is to listen to my demo haha.

Nocturnal Times: We know the lore is a big part of your music. Can you tell us how the lyrics, story, and artwork of Sail Away fit into your previous songs?

TheFatRat: So, in this story, “Sail Away” is a very straightforward moment. It’s what the story has been building up to so far. So the two kids ran away. They survived in the trash mountains, they found this old ship and they repaired it, and now they’re leaving with the ship. They’re getting away from all the mess of their old life, with hope for a better life. So it’s a very nice, straightforward, and positive moment of the story.

Nocturnal Times: What can fans look forward to in the story in future songs?

TheFatRat: From here on, the story will start to take more twists and turns. So far it’s been moving very much in one direction. The kids are out there, they’re unhappy, they’re running away, they’re surviving, and they’re finding the ship, so it was just one direction. With the next song, we’re gonna have a somewhat surprising twist I would say. It’s actually kind of where the story really starts to develop. So it’s going to be chapter five, where things get more interesting, but also a little bit more complicated and surprising. I’m very very excited to share that with people. I also wrote and sang on the next song that’s coming, and it’s one song where I actually like my vocals on it. So, the next song will be me on the vocals.