Tamino reeling us in
If you didn't know who Tamino was, well get ready to be OBSESSED!!! Cuz right now we are heading to the mystical world of indie-alternative rock.
He is one of the underrated contemporary singers of this generation who everyone should look out for. Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad, a 24-year-old Belgian-Egyptian singer-songwriter. His grandfather Moharam Fouad was a very well-known Arabian Musician and movie star. Tamino started his journey by gaining recognition from a competition he won called “De Nieuwe Lichting” meaning “The New Class”. He released his song called “Habibi” which led to him earning the Title The Jeff Buckley of Belgium. During the 2017 and 2018 summers, he hit the road and performed at many rock festivals across Europe.
His musicality came from both sides of his family, he mainly got to experience his mom's side as he was separated from his father from the age of 3 to 11 when his parents got divorced. She plays classical piano and used to play for him and his brothers, she also had a great record collection which ranged from Classical to Arabic, to Jazz and Pop. He started taking interest in music when he started to play the piano and realized he wanted to make his own music. He wrote his first song at 14, for a girl he liked.
On 19 October 2018 Tamino released his first full-length album, Amir. The sound of the album is particularly very unique as he creates a fusion with two different sounds from different parts of the world. Basically, he pours out his own identity and gives it his own twist.
The album consists of 12 tracks in total
Songs
I have listed a few of my favorite songs from him,
Habibi
The video of Habibi is performed live showing his vocal range potential as an artist and wooing us all. The song hints at Arabic influence, while his super deep voice is very romantic the key is his crystal clear falsetto which enraptures the listener.
He explained the emotions of what each singing style reflects by saying, “The falsettos sound more like crying and the bass can be more like a confident sound, it was a way of expression.”
Indigo Night
In this track, the bass was added by Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood, who became a fan of Tamino before collaborating with him. later, he became a member of Tamino’s live band. His music may be viewed as melancholic to someone new but actually, it has a feeling of affirmation and warmness.
“I guess it’s dark, but for me it’s also warm. It’s not the stark kind of darkness, it’s a warm kind of darkness, an inviting darkness… I think it’s the full embrace of emotion and being.”
I think the ominous ballad and the synths of rippling strings add richness to the flavor of music.
Cigar
For this song, he got inspired by a painting he saw of a skeleton smoking a cigarette in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. Skull of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette.
He talked about the music video and concept,
“I then made a concept for a video about a year ago: I wanted to portray a dead man obtaining the chance to live again one last night. During his time alive he does whatever he pleases, just like when he was among the livings… And I’m so proud of my brother Ramy Moharam Fouad who directed it perfectly.”
Tummy
In this next song's music video, he appears as a Pharaoh covered in golden glitter paint while being swarmed by his followers. When people think about Egypt they stereotypically think about pyramids and pharaohs which was really funny to Tamino.
“The aim of the video was, in part, to poke fun at lazy stereotypes of Egyptian culture.”
Although mainly the lyrics talk about angels, bugs, and cupids, he ulteriorly speaks about something more explicit which is sex, and how you lose all your self-command and pride.
“ You lose all your pride, all your dignity in a way, because you are not really controlling human consciousness”, tells in an interview with GQ.
Concert
He held concerts in different and various regions of Turkey multiple times. I luckily found the opportunity to go to his concert in Izmir he had in the October of 2019.
“There were definitely some surprises along the way. In Turkey, it went really fast. I’d never been there for any promo and we could already play two sold-out shows there. It was amazing to see and to feel that happening. It’s a strange idea that you release something, and it finds an audience, but numbers are quite abstract for me, it’s only when you play for those people, when you feel the vibe, when you can feel what it’s doing, that’s when you fully experience it.”
If you want to learn more about his future concerts check out his official website.
His album Amir, which caused a huge commotion in the middle east, led us to believe there will be more dark romantic music and transcendental sound that touches our soul from him. He is definitely an artist I personally very much admire and adore, to be honest. The aesthetic, vibe, and ambiance he creates are all very pleasing.
