Tamino releases wistful 'Sunflower' music video ahead of Vicar Street show

The Belgium-Egyptian artist Tamino has been teasing the release of the music video for the heart-wrenching, longing single 'Sunflower' for some time. Seeing the fantastical video, it's been worth the wait.

Tamino is currently on tour and plans to play Vicar Street in a little more than a week. Supporting him at the March 5th headline show will be special guest Isaac Gracie.

It's not the first time the 26-year-old will be playing in Dublin. He previously played a show at the Button Factory in December 2019, after supporting Lana Del Ray at Malahide Castle. Tamino also made an appearance on the TV show Other Voices, filmed in Dingle.

Angèle, a Belgium singer-songwriter, lent her voice to the single as Tamino's co-singer. In an interview with Hot Press, Tamino talked about the importance of the two's friendship acting as a foundation for their working relationship.

"That’s actually why Angèle felt like the best choice for ‘Sunflower.' Not only because of her beautiful voice and I feel like she embodies the character, because there are two characters in that song - I really wanted to have someone singing who I could see as the character in that song."

💛🌻🎥🔜💛 pic.twitter.com/0xNQxvPZ9g

— Tamino (@taminoamir) February 14, 2023

"I felt really comfortable around her and she around me. Basically, we were friends before we started working together. I really liked that.”

In the 'Sunflower' music video, Tamino's character sees Angèle's climbing a ladder to the moon. Set in the middle of an ocean, he takes a rowboat to the ladder to climb after her, only to fall back to Earth when she rejects him.

The video takes inspiration from the short story, The Distance of The Moon by Italo Calvino, which Director Bastiaan Lochs elaborates upon.

“Calvino writes about a love triangle between a sailor, the wife of his captain and the sailor's deaf cousin. Together they paddle out to sea at night and climb onto the moon with a ladder to harvest 'moon milk'."

"It ends with the lady climbing onto the moon while it is drifting away from earth and never coming back. In doing so she becomes one with the moon, the object of affection of the deaf cousin whom she's become infatuated with, and leaves behind the sailor who in his turn has fallen in love with her.”

The two also promoted the song on Twitter and YouTube, hosting a conversation about the process of making the music video on the video streaming site.

Sunflower music video premiere tomorrow at 6pm CET / 12pm ET!🌻 Get notified: https://t.co/32ukNmRLoH
Also: Angèle and I had a fun conversation about the video, the song, etc. YouTube premium members can watch it after the premiere 💛
Photo: Kris Dewitte Design: Studio Daoudi pic.twitter.com/c1QJ2e0DcC

— Tamino (@taminoamir) February 21, 2023

'Sunflower' is taken from his second album, Sahar, released back in September via Djinn/Secretly Distribution. It features collaborations with Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood, producer and engineer PJ Maertens, and drummer Ruben Vanhoutte.'

"The pairing of his smouldering voice with the oud creates a lush and layered sonic landscape that is both haunting and romantic."

Sahar melds Arabic folk music, experimental indie rock, and orchestral arrangements. The Belgium-Egyptian singer-songwriter introduces the Arabic oud into his music throughout the album. Overall, it connects him to his Egyptian-Lebanese heritage and to his grandfather, the great singer and actor Muharram Fouad.

"Sahar is where the romanticism and tragedy of Jeff Buckley meets a cosmopolitan, universalist aesthetic sensibility – an effortless mingling of European, American and Middle Eastern influences."

Check out Tamino live at Vicar Street on 5^th March 2023. Get tickets starting from €20 here:

Watch Tamino's new music video for 'Sunflower' here: