‘Hauntingly beautiful and sharp’ – Esquire
‘Astonishing’ – NPR
‘A magical elixr’ – KCRW
Tamino’s second album Sahar, is out today via Virgin Music Australia. The album, led by the singles The First Disciple, Fascination and You Don’t Own Me, and now the focus track, Sunflower (a summery duet with French star Angele) has seen him garner praise world wide and has led to sold out shows on his European and North American tours.
Born from Tamino’s Antwerp apartment and bolstered by collaborators including Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood, producer/engineer PJ Maertens and drummer Ruben Vanhoutte, Sahar is a powerhouse sophomore effort that mixes Arabic folk and experimental indie rock with sweeping orchestral arrangements. On Sahar, Tamino rearticulates the Arabic oud, the instrument of his grandfather Muharram Fouad, one of Egypt’s most celebrated singers and actors, into more a ‘typical’ indie arrangement. The way it pairs with his smoldering voice creates a sonic landscape which is lush, layered and haunting. Sahar is where the romanticism and tragedy of Jeff Buckley meets a cosmopolitan, universalist aesthetic sensibility – an effortless mingling of European, American and Middle Eastern influences.