Born in Agadir in southern Morocco, Farid naturally grew up in a family of musicians, his mother is a pianist, his father is an accordionist, and his uncle is drummer. He grew up in an atmosphere ruled by his mothers’s melodies and his uncle’s rhythms, who, by the way, played with the most known virtuoso’s of his epoch in Agadir.
As a teenager, he learned Gnawa music, and feels very close to “The Guembri” (a Gnaoui traditional music instrument), he acquired one, and decided to make it his favorite music instrument. Later, he became one of the first to play the electric “Gambri”. This relationship with the string instruments will be strengthened by the discovery of the acoustic, and the bass guitar, which will also be added to his fields of excellence, and become one of the main music instruments, he will collaborate as bass player with many known artist in the Moroccan musical scene such as Said Moskir or Hamid El Kasri.
At 18, Farid arrives to Casablanca as a professional Gnawi musician and integrates in less than a year two musical bands, “Gnawa Click” as bass player and the band “Gawa Fusion” in 2005.
In 2006, Farid Ghannam then a known bass player in the underground musical scene, will form “Mayara Band”. The band will be the revelation of the Moroccan fusion scene. With a very fluid style and a Gnaoua reference, but with a Funk, Reggae and Ska influence.
Between 2006 and 2012, Farid, then known as Farid Mayara, will achieve one of the most spectacular careers. Mayara Band will win the “Generation Mawazine” contest in 2007, and the “tremplin des jeunes musiciens” competition at “l’Boulevar” in 2008.
In the same year the band released their first and very successful single “Haly Gnawa”, the video clip of the song was produced by the “SNRT” under the patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed 6, and was released from 2009 on national channels. In 2011 the band released their first album entitled “Derbala”.
In the meanwhile, Farid Ghannam made several artist residencies in Morocco and abroad (Spain, Netherlands), as well as experience in Ireland in 2009.
Farid Ghannam will lead one of his first solo experiences when playing bass guitar, Gambri, and performing gnawi vocals in the song “Tlah Habibi Tlah” with the Lebanese singer Myriam Fares.
In 2012 Farid Ghannam will cast the first season of the international television musical show “The Voice” in its Arabic version, a participation that revealed the other facet of Farid.
In 2012 Farid Ghannam passed successfully the casting of the first season of international television music show “The Voice” in its Arabic version, a participation which revealed another artistic side of Farid.
During the phase of the blind hearing, coaches will be faced with the choice of Farid.
Finally he chooses Shereen Abdelwahab. With its Egyptian coach, he achieved more than 40 million views on YouTube, and performed in various music genres along the show.
