Tamino Releases “Sanctuary,” New Duet Featuring Mitski

Tamino Client Information

23 January, 2025Print

Tamino Releases "Sanctuary," New Duet Featuring Mitski

Every Dawn's a Mountain Out March 21st via erēmia/Communion Records

Spring Tour Includes NYC's Brooklyn Steel, LA's Belasco, SF's Fillmore & More, Early Album Release Shows Sell Out In Hours Across Europe

Today, with the release of "Sanctuary," Tamino joins forces with one of his favorite artists, and introduces a new side to his songwriting. As the latest single from his forthcoming album, Every Dawn's a Mountain, and the only duet on a record largely penned alone, "Sanctuary" features vocals from Mitski, and tells a story of hope and heartache. Over the course of six stirring verses, each soaring over the song's rising tide of strings and gentle crash of drums, Tamino and Mitski sing solo and together, exchanging harmonies and revelations. There is no refrain, just a poetic stream of confessions and consciousness, delivered by the commanding and complementing sounds of their voices.

Listen to "Sanctuary" via Communion Records:

HERE

Tamino and Mitski began as mutual fans, before becoming friends, tourmates and collaborators. He discovered Mitski's Puberty 2 during a pivotal time spent studying in Amsterdam and instantly fell in love with her work. Years passed and he received a message from Mitski, first with the idea of making music together, and then the invitation to support her on a run of North American shows in early 2024. It took months before Tamino formed the seed of a song he thought had the power or potential for the two of them, so he shared a demo, shaped the lyrics together via text message, and set a date for Mitski to join him in the studio. Still, though, "Sanctuary" had yet to be born. Tamino continues:

"Two weeks before our scheduled studio session, I had doubts about whether the current song was suitable enough for a duet. I teamed up with my friend Alessandro Buccellati (SZA, Arlo Parks) at my place in New York City, where, in the wake of my doubts, we wrote the music of 'Sanctuary' in a few hours. The next morning I wrote the lyrics, recorded a small demo, and sent it to Mitski, who loved it and, like me, preferred it to the other song. I asked her if she thought changes in the lyrics were necessary, but she liked it as it was. Two weeks later she came to the studio, where she wrote beautiful harmonies and recorded her part in half a day.

I usually write in solitude and only let other people in much later in the process when the songs already have a form. Collaborating with Alessandro has been a revelation in the sense that for the first time I feel like songwriting as a duo results in songs that I feel are worth releasing. On this album, 'Sanctuary' is the only track fully birthed from this working dynamic. It's also the final addition to the record. These things, combined with the fact that the song features a second voice on what is otherwise a very personal record, make the track a bit of an outlier. Still, it feels like an essential track on this album. I won't analyze it here, but suffice it to say that I can't imagine this record without it. Apart from that, it's also a pinch me moment every time I hear Mitski's voice soaring over 'Sanctuary,' especially when I think back to my time in Amsterdam where it soared over many days."

-Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad

Out March 21st, and produced by Tamino and longtime collaborator PJ Maertens, Every Dawn's a Mountain is an album about loss, displacement, breaking up and letting go of the past. Primarily written in his new home of New York City, but recorded in a New Orleans church, Brussels studio, and scattered hotel rooms while on tour, these 10 songs mark a fresh start for an artist who headlines arenas in his native Europe and his ancestors' Middle East, and who has performed with Daniel Caesar, David Byrne, Lana Del Rey, Mustafa, Radiohead's Colin Greenwood and more. Arriving on the heels of the recently released "Babylon" and "Dissolve," showcasing Tamino's striking approach to both the guitar and Arabic oud, "Sanctuary" further exemplifies why Every Dawn's a Mountain is "pivotal," says NYLON. "A turning point personally and professionally."

Ahead of the album release, Tamino will preview Every Dawn's a Mountain at a series of intimate release shows that sold-out in a matter of hours, taking place at theaters, churches and other historic venues in the UK and EU. Then, on March 27th, he begins an extensive North American tour, bringing him and the album to New York City's Brooklyn Steel, Los Angeles' Belasco, San Francisco's The Fillmore, two nights at Chicago's Thalia Hall and more you can find below, and at taminomusic.com/tour.