Tamino (musician)

Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad was born on 24 October 1996 in Mortsel, Antwerp, Belgium, to a Belgian (Flemish)[7][8] mother and Egyptian father.[9] His parents met in the 1990s in Guinea, where his mother was living as an anthropology student. The couple settled in Belgium, where his mother gave birth to him and his brother Rami.[10] His parents split when he was a child and his father returned to Egypt. Tamino was raised by his mother and Belgian grandparents.[10]

His paternal grandfather was the famous Egyptian singer Muharram Fouad.[10] Tamino played the piano as a child, and was musically influenced by his mother, who introduced him to artists such as The Beatles, Satie, Chopin, as well as the Arabic music she got to know through his father.[9]

Before commercial success, at age 17 Tamino trained vocally at the Amsterdam Royal Conservatory.[11]

In November 2016, Tamino was invited by Belgian band Het Zesde Metaal to play a Radio 1 session. His first single, Habibi, made an impression and he was immediately picked up by Radio 1.[12]

In 2017, Tamino won a new musical talent competition at Studio Brussels.[13] On 11 October 2017 he played in the Ancienne Belgique (Brussels) where he was nicknamed 'the Belgian Jeff Buckley'.[14] He has also played at Palais 12 (Brussels) and during the Flemish Music Industry Awards and the Melkweg in Amsterdam. During the summer of 2017, he was featured in festivals across Belgium and the Netherlands such as Rock Werchter and Pukkelpop.

In the summer of 2018 Tamino performed in festivals across Europe including Rock en Seine (Paris).[15] On 19 October 2018 Tamino released his first full-length album Amir (Arts & Crafts/Communion). At the end of October, he played three sold-out shows at the Ancienne Belgique as part of a European headline tour. On 8 November 2018 he performed in Iceland at Iceland Airwaves.

Tamino was featured in Live Nation's Ones To Watch,[16] which spoke of Tamino's voice, saying his "falsetto surpasses 'face melting' and rises to a space of pureness that can only be described as divine." He announced his first headline stadium show in November 2019 at the Lotto Arena.

In 2019, Tamino played four shows at SXSW, his first North American shows, where he shared the live version of his single "Indigo Night", with Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood. On 10 May, Tamino released his live EP titled Live at Ancienne Belgique. Following SXSW he returned to Europe for a tour across the continent, including France, Great Britain, Germany, and the Sziget Festival in Budapest.

Tamino has also been featured in the fashion world and alongside supermodel Gisele Bündchen in Missoni's SS19 Collection. During Paris Fashion week he was featured "in conversation" with Maison Valentino and performed a solo version of "Indigo Night".[17] He has been featured in Vogue Hommes' March 2019 14-page spread, which was photographed by critically lauded photographer Paolo Roversi.