Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad, popularly known as Tamino, is a Belgian Egyptian professional singer and songwriter, and occasional model. He is known for incorporating Arab influence into his main genre of indie and alternative rock. The singer is often compared to Jeff Buckley for his falsetto runs and raw emotion.
In 2018 the BBC named him “The New Sound of the Nile” after his late grandfather, Egyptian actor Muharram Fouad.
Tamino will release his second studio album in September. The first two lead singles, “The First Disciple” and “Fascination,” are out now.
Belgium’s rising star Tamino
Like jazz and neo-Sufi singer Arooj Aftab, Tamino got his start after attending music school. He then proceeded to gain traction in festivals across Europe. In 2017 he won a talent competition hosted by the radio station Studio Brussels.
Tamino first approached the Belgian fashion label Ann Demeulemeester for clothes to wear during concerts and festivals in 2017. His height and features promptly got him into their autumn/winter line. Missoni also featured him in their SS19 menswear campaign.
“I don’t have ambitions in [modelling],” Tamino told British GQ. “But the things that have happened naturally in the fashion world, I do appreciate them. I love to go to fashion shows.”
That same year the singer released his first EP Tamino. In 2018 Tamino released his second EP Habibi. The Buckley-esque lead single is haunting.
“There’s also a lot of sadness in Arabic music and a lot of melancholy but it progresses to something majestic which I really like,” Tamino told BBC News. “In my own music, the intensity comes from my own search for meaning and beauty.”
Tamino’s first studio album Amir earned five nominations at Belgium’s MIA awards (equivalent to the Grammys.) He released the record in 2018 with Arts & Crafts Productions.
In the recording of Amir, Tamino recruited the Brussels-based Arab orchestra Nagham Zikrayat. The group, most of whom are Iraqi and Syrian refugees, recreated a traditional firqa ensemble. The album also featured Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood on the track “Indigo Night.”
“I love Arabic music and I’m proud of my roots, so naturally they found their way into my music,” Tamino told GQ Magazine.
Tamino’s musical family and Egyptian roots
Tamino was born 1996 in Antwerp, Belgium, and spent his first three years between there and Egypt.
“When I turned three and right after my younger brother Ramy was born, my parents divorced and from thereon we grew up in Belgium with our mom,” the singer told Project Revolver.
Tamino’s parents are also musicians. His mother is a classical pianist.
“I’ve seen video footage of my father playing me traditional Arabic songs on the Oud, and singing his own songs,” Tamino recalled. “He used to pursue a career in music but now has a different profession as an event manager.”
The singer’s grandfather is Egyptian actor and singer Muharram Fouad – one of the biggest names in 1960s Egyptian musical film. In fact, Tamino first sang into a microphone at age 3 in his grandfather’s studio in Cairo.
“Sadly, he died when I was five so I don’t really remember him,” Tamino said. “I have his records and I listen to them quite often at home. I especially love his live recordings because then you really hear his extraordinary voice – it has such a musicality and intensity and I’m really proud.”
Tamino first started studying piano around 11 years old. He was 14 when he wrote his first song.
“I’ve loved theater since I was a kid and went to a theater school twice a week after ‘real’ school, but at a certain point music took over very naturally,” Tamino said. “It seemed to be the thing I was best at, and it gave me a real sense of purpose for the first time in my life.”
Currently the singer studies Arabic as well as the oud.
“Every time I do something that brings me closer to [Egyptian] culture, I feel good,” shared Tamino. “It feels like a reconnection.”
Tamino’s upcoming September album Sahar
Tamino will release his third album Sahar on September 23, 2022. The album’s lead single, “The First Disciple,” first dropped April 27. Radiohead’s bassist Colin Greenwood reappears on the track along with Belgian drummer Ruben Vanhoutte.
“Fascination” followed soon after in early June.
Tamino will also return to touring Europe and North America after a two-year hiatus upon the album’s release.
“Fame is not an ambition of mine,” said Tamino. “But just to be able to do this, and play in venues all over the world, and meet people…I think it won’t get better than that.”
