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May 16, 2025Haitham ElManawaty
Haitham ElManawaty (Panic Later) always believed his region’s creativity could rival the world’s best. With a passion for storytelling and visual art, he broke new ground with Za3lana, the first 3D animated music video in the Middle East, merging animation, music, and design in a way that hadn’t been done before.
My journey started with a simple but relentless belief: that creativity from our region could stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world. I come from a background where storytelling and visual art lived hand in hand.
Over the years, I worked across different creative fields, but music always had a special hold on me—it was the purest form of emotion. The animated music video we created wasn’t just another project; it was a living testament to the power of collaboration—a celebration of local talents coming together to dream bigger, push harder, and create something the region had never seen before.
This recognition is a reminder that innovation matters, and that there’s no ceiling to how far our ideas can go when we trust in the process and in each other.
It pushes me to keep experimenting—to keep blending visual art, animation, and music in ways that feel real, emotional, and unapologetically ours. It’s not just about making songs anymore; it’s about building experiences that move people and redefine what’s possible.
It wasn’t a sudden lightning strike but a quiet realization that music was always there, threading itself through everything I loved. But the defining moment was standing in a small studio, hearing a rough mix of one of my first tracks, and feeling a rush of emotion so real it gave me chills.
I realized then that if I could feel that, I could help others feel it, too. And that’s been the compass ever since.
To be honest, I don’t really believe in rituals — we believe in pressure. It’s part of our DNA. We thrive when things get chaotic, when the stakes are high, and when it feels like there’s no way out except through pure creativity.
Our “habit” is to lean into the discomfort, push beyond the first obvious idea, and treat every session like it’s make-or-break. It’s not about waiting for inspiration to strike; it’s about showing up ready to battle for it. Pressure isn’t the enemy at PanicLater — it’s the fuel that sharpens everything we do.
It wasn’t one song, it was a moment. I remember hearing a track that blended heartbreak and hope in the same breath, and it hit me: music isn’t just entertainment, it’s survival.
Artists like Pink Floyd, Nina Simone, and Abdel Halim Hafez taught me early on that music is both a weapon and a refuge. That feeling never left.
A living proof that when passion meets pressure and vision meets collaboration, history is made.
And this is what Panic Later is all about.
If PanicLater could collaborate with anyone, it would be with artists who understand that real magic happens at the edge of chaos—people like Kanye West in his rawest form, Daft Punk at their boldest, or even iconic local legends who weren’t afraid to break the rules.
The vibe would be unapologetic, high-energy, and genre-bending. It would be a sound that doesn’t ask for permission, just like PanicLater. The track would feel like a shot of adrenaline—gritty, cinematic, futuristic, and deeply human—where every beat carries the signature PanicLater DNA: pressure turned into power.
Haitham ElManawaty
Haitham ElManawaty (Panic Later) always believed his region’s creativity could rival the world’s best. With a passion for storytelling and visual art, he broke new ground with Za3lana, the first 3D animated music video in the Middle East, merging animation, music, and design in a way that hadn’t been done before.
Explore the journey of Christopher Rokita, the Platinum Winner of the 2025 LIT Music Awards. A writer, composer, producer, and recording artist, he forges his path through collaborations with visionary artists, blending the timeless passion of Classic Rock with modern energy to create emotionally charged music.