For nearly three years, Tamino seemed to have disappeared from the face of theearth. You could call it a somewhat disturbing disappearance, were it not forthe fact that the reason for that isolation was a new record. With “Habibi”,the Antwerp native with Egyptian roots quickly conquered a lot of hearts andpeople abroad were not cold to Tamino’s music either. debut album _amir_turned out to be a bull’s eye and so expectations for that dreaded secondalbum were very high. When the silence was broken with “The First Disciple” itimmediately became clear that the return of the artist would be one throughthe big gate.
Tamino’s success formula remains broadly the same as on amir ; rich, warmvocals on a bed of sounds that seek the balance between east and west. Yet wehear on sahara immediately a more mature artist. It all seems a lot morethoughtful, as if the words have been weighed and weighed countless times,only to return to a very pure and honest version. We didn’t expect less thanthat, if you know that Tamino has had a number of years for this. Themelancholic sound that forms the common thread through the record comes fromthe Ud, an Arabic instrument that he learned to play under the mentorship of aSyrian refugee.
That time resounds richly throughout the work sahara. “The Longing”immediately takes us to the Middle East where everything is just a bit moregraceful and warmer. Tamino sounds like the sun setting over a vast valley,while the last warmth left in the air drapes itself like a blanket over yourshoulders. That melancholic landscape continues on “The Flame”, a song thatinitially has many layers, but quickly returns to the essence. It is preciselyin those instrumental parts, where different instruments seem to flowtogether, that a kind of extra dimension is given to the music.
As if sahara as a whole is not a wonderful gift, we also get to hear a duetwith Angèle. Whether Tamino really needed that feature to put his album in thespotlight, we don’t know, but we’re very happy with it anyway. Angèle venturesinto English, which is, as always, the official language of Tamino’s music,thus creating an additional fragility. The dynamics between the two aresomewhat reminiscent of Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue on “Where The Wild RosesGrow”, but as beautiful as the verses alone are, it’s the chorus that createspure magic. The strings provide the melancholy that all too often keeps uscompany at this time of year.
on sahara is brought the same musical quality as on amir and so you couldsay that there aren’t really any big surprises on the record, although inTamino’s case that might be what we’re most thankful for. The artist knows howto reinforce his own sound in this way and we can only appreciate that.Contrary to the other songs, “Cinnamon” has a slightly more uptempo chorusthat will certainly appeal to the general public. It all sounds a little lessheavy, without really losing that typical Tamino factor. The timelessness andlived-in life that we so associate with the Antwerp resident is reflected insongs such as “Only Our Love” or “My Dearest Friend and Enemy”, where on thelatter sunbeams gently break through the melancholic cloud cover to give theend something less painful and heavy.
After ten enchanting songs the journey comes through sahara to an end andjust like with holidays that leave a deep impression, we enjoy the peace for awhile, but we like to leave as soon as possible. Luckily for us, that secondTamino record is now ours forever and we could return at any moment to abubble where reality seems to be an illusion. If you want to see Tamino liveat work, you can do so on December 2 and 3 in Paradiso, Amsterdam and onDecember 5, 6 and 7 in the Royal Circus in Brussels. If you don’t have ticketsfor one of these shows yet, then you have to rely on Ticketswap and speed,because Tamino managed to sell out all the dates in no time.
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