Before commercial success, at age 17 Tamino trained vocally at the Amsterdam Royal Conservatory.
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.
In 2017, Tamino won a new musical talent competition at Studio Brussels. On 11 October 2017 he played in the Ancienne Belgique (Brussels) where he was nicknamed 'the Belgian Jeff Buckley'. 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). 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, 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 recently announced his first headline stadium show in November 2019 at the Lotto Arena.
In 2019, Tamino played four shows at SXSW, his first ever 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". He has been featured in Vogue Hommes' March 2019 14-page spread which was photographed by critically lauded photographer Paolo Roversi.
On 19 October 2018 Tamino released his first full-length album Amir. Throughout the album, Tamino is joined by a collective of Arabic musicians based in Brussels called Nagham Zikrayat, an orchestra predominantly made up of professional musicians from the Middle East, most of whom are refugees that fled Iraq and Syria.
The BBC hailed Amir as "The New Sound Of The Nile" an ode to Tamino's grandfather Muharram Fouad. The Independent included Amir in their top 10 albums of 2018. Tamino won the Anchor Award at Germany's 2018 Reeperbahn festival and has been nominated for 5 MIA Award's in Belgium.
Chambers
Tamino Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd do it again
You know them by heart by now
You have them with them
Oh, would you still offer your embrace
If it's another place you'd find me in?
If it's ours and ours to use
Between your heart and mine
Lost a round, the first tonight
In your false withdrawal
You let me rise, you let me fall
I won't be worthy of this fight,
in your faint retreat
I'll follow blindly in defeat
Lots around the first tonight
In your false withdrawal
You've let me rise, you've let me fall
I won't be with you of this fight
In your feigned retreat
I follow blindly, defeat
I've given my heart to you
You know its ways, listen
In its chambers you have lived
Though lately you have come to read your lies
Then for the bullets that you fire
I'm your main supplier
I'm the one
The triggerfinger gun
Lost a round, the first tonight
In your false withdrawal
You let me rise, you let me fall
I won't be worthy of this fight
in your faint retreat
I'll follow blindly in defeat
My fear is that
I'm lost in you
I do meet you
I do fear you
I do meet you
The song Chambers by Tamino is a slow, melancholic tune that explores the complexities of a relationship. Tamino starts off by claiming that he has given his words, and by extension, heart to his partner, and would do so again. The partner knows him too well, even by heart, and has these words with them always. Tamino then poses a question, wondering if his partner would still embrace him even in another place. He then goes on to highlight the struggles they are facing, and entreats them not to refuse the "seas of fire between your heart and mine."
In the next verse, Tamino acknowledges that he has lost a round and is no longer worthy of the fight. He realizes that his partner isn't giving their best shot and is only feigning retreat, causing him to follow blindly in defeat. He then goes ahead to admit that he gave his heart to his partner, and they know its ways but seem to have come to read their lies lately. Tamino supplies bullets to his partner's firing gun and is the trigger finger, indicating he's the one pulling the shots. He then rephrases the chorus, again admitting his fear of being lost in his partner and fearing them, even though they both still meet.
Line by Line Meaning
I've given my words to you
I have conveyed my feelings and thoughts to you
I'd do it again
I would express myself again
You know them by heart by now
You are familiar with my thoughts and feelings
You have them with them
You have an understanding of my thoughts and feelings
Oh, would you still offer your embrace
Would you still love and comfort me
If it's another place you'd find me in?
If I am not in the same place as you are
If it's ours and ours to use
If it is something we both have access to
How can we refuse the seas of fire
How can we resist the passion and desire we feel for each other
Between your heart and mine
The emotions we share
Lost a round, the first tonight
I have lost an argument with you, the first of tonight
In your false withdrawal
You have pretended to retreat
You let me rise, you let me fall
You have allowed me to succeed and fail
I won't be worthy of this fight,
I do not think I am capable of fighting this battle
in your faint retreat
In your fake withdrawal
I'll follow blindly in defeat
I will continue trying to win despite the odds being against me
I've given my heart to you
I have given you my love
You know its ways, listen
You understand how I love, pay attention
In its chambers you have lived
You have been a part of my heart for a long time
Though lately you have come to read your lies
But recently you have started to believe the false things you tell yourself
Then for the bullets that you fire
For the criticism you give me
I'm your main supplier
I am the one who provides you with ammunition
I'm the one
I am responsible
The triggerfinger gun
I am the one who is affected by your criticism
My fear is that
What I worry about is that
I'm lost in you
I am deeply in love with you
I do meet you
I understand you
I do fear you
I am afraid of losing you
I do meet you
I understand you
Writer(s): MOHARAM FOUAD TAMINO AMIR
Contributed by Kayla K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.