Tamino at Koko

Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad, known as Tamino, is a Belgian-Egyptian singer and musician. In 2018, he released his first full-length album, Amir, which won him the title of “the Belgian Jeff Buckley”; the BBC hailed the album as “The New Sound of the Nile”. Following this great success, Tamino took a long break and only came back this year. On 27^th April 2022 he released The First Disciple, the first single from his second studio album, Sahar, after a two-year social media hiatus. A couple of months later, the second single, Fascination, came out.

On Friday night, the Belgian-Egyptian wunderkind provided a soulful and contemplative performance in the beautiful Koko in Camden, which recently reopened after a three-year renovation following a devastating fire in 2020. While Tamino is still relatively under-the-radar, he regularly sells out 1,000-seat theatres across Europe. London was no exception. After the first date planned at Koko sold out, they had to schedule a second one on Friday, and it’s easy to see why.

Songs like Fascination confirm the accuracy of the comparison with Jeff Buckley (and Leonard Cohen). It was indeed one of the highlights of the night, along with The Flame, both from his latest album. Indigo Night and Habibi were, however, the two songs that managed to most excite an otherwise quiet crowd (a stubborn fan requested Habibi for the whole duration of the concert). Tamino’s audience is usually very tame and introspective, sitting in silent rapture as he delivers his passionate songs of love and loss in a stirring falsetto. During the encore, where he played Cigar and an acoustic version of Only Our Love, an annoyed listener shushed a particularly loud group of people sitting at the bar. The artist, in turn, seems genuinely shy and definitely is not a big talker.

Accompanied by clever games of light that fit the atmosphere perfectly, Tamino alternated solo songs and grander tunes played with an amazing band, both categories mesmerising. His embarrassed laughter during Only Our Love – one of his most romantic songs – kept echoing in the theatre long after the end of the concert. A beautiful night and a fascinating artist to watch.

Diletta Lobuono
Photos: Virginie Viche

For further information and future events visit Tamino’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Fascination here: