Live Review: Tamino @ Electrowerkz, London

A packed out club in Islington, a dimly lit, tiny stage and a beautiful boy whose divine falsetto reaches far beyond the rafters. That's how I can sum up Tamino's first headline show in London. I've seen some of the venues he's capable of selling out in Belgium and The Netherlands, at the incredible age of only 21. So it made it all the more special to see him in such an intimate venue this side of the North Sea. He makes his way through the audience and on stage (seriously, the stage was so small there wasn't even a backstage area) and opens the show with 'Reverse'. Immediately, the extent of his talent is made clear and the audience knows it's going to be a good night. The Belgian's Egyptian heritage is evident in this song with the inclusion of distinctly Arabic melodic lines. I'm a sucker for fusions of genres and cultures in music and Tamino's an expert. Thank God this former punk kid embraced his Arabic culture into his music to bring us music so heartbreaking and hypnotising.

Early into the set he plays my current favourite song Cigar. From the very first line you can hear the Jeff Buckley-ness in his rich, deep tone and his powerful lyrics such as, "Death suits you dear sir/ Like a beautiful coat, but then without all the fur" show the kind of storyteller he is. I love the rising and falling in tension in the song between the percussive choruses and the steady verses. He slows it right down for the final verse as he croons, "You look at me now/ With that burning cigar hanging out of your mouth/ And it seems all a lie/ What they've told me so far," to a hushed audience. Tears prick my eyes as I'm overwhelmed with emotions, both from to the song itself and the fact that I've just witnessed it sung live directly in front of me.

Next, with pretty much each new guitar comes a new song. Some are fast, some are slow, all are beautiful. As his music is pretty sparse online, with only 4 songs available to stream, these new songs are a welcome treat. My favourite lyrics of the night come from one of the new songs, "I won't be worthy of this fight/ In your famed retreat/ I'll follow blindly in defeat." Again I go back to his song-writing but I am just perpetually in awe that somebody can be so poetic when not even singing in their first language.

Particularly as he doesn't speak too much on stage and when he does he comes off very timid. But to paraphrase a conversation we had, "When you sing and people know your songs, they have one idea of the person they think you are." So I guess he's just doing a damn good job at getting people to understand him. Isn't that what all songwriters are doing? I guess so. I digress.

The latter part of his set includes his better known songs. A recent single 'Indigo Night' features a celestial sounding piano accompanying his ever present deep, sombre tone. In my mind the song creates an idyllic image of "blue hour" on a crisp Autumn evening. It's chilling (in the best way). Finally, 'Habibi'. His debut single which has propelled him to great success all across Europe. It features everything that is quintessential Tamino: Arabic inspired runs in his voice, melody spanning the extremes of his incredible range, and allusive lyricism and imagery, like, "As the full star tries his best to make the white pearl shine."

He ends the gig on a high note. Literally. 'Habibi' ends in his otherworldly falsetto and the crowd finally lets out the noise it has been holding in for the past hour. Through the roaring applause comes the inevitable "one more song" chant. Lucky for us, because I don't think anybody in the room is quite ready to call it a night, Tamino obliges. As he sets up again and the noise dies down, I call out asking him to sing 'Smile.' Seems great minds think alike as he responds, "I was just about to say that."

Again, his voice soars to such great heights making 'Smile', with its happier tone, the perfect finale. I've heard from the horse's mouth that an album is coming after the Summer, so that's somewhat of a remedy to the post-concert depression that has already begun showing symptoms. We leave the venue, it's an indigo night. I'm left replaying the night's events like a broken record, but one I don't want fixing quite yet.