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Image Tim Coppens

June 28, 2019

By: GUNTER VAN ASSCHE

Note: This interview was translated using Google Translate

In nine episodes, readers ask questions to well-known Belgian musicians who color the festival season this summer. This week: Tamino. What is he afraid of? Is he straight or gay? And is a fragile artist who plays for so manypeople rather not alone?

Do you realize that you are a great inspiration for many young people with an Arab background? I have learned to accept my roots thanks to your music. A big thank you to ajar the door of my cage. (Amalia Jaidi, Antwerp)

Wow … fuckin wow. (after a long silence) That really touches me. As a young teenager I was not really concerned with my background. I put it away. I just wanted to belong at school. I wanted to be a normal Antwerp boy like the rest.

(laughs)

“But I am happy that I can still build such a bridge today. Because you can’t really underestimate that problem: if you want to learn something about the Arabic culture, you have to look very consciously yourself. On TV you can only see images of revolutions and violence, while there is so much beauty to be found. But if you don’t know Arabic, it’s pretty hard to find the right things on the internet.

I hope to take evening classes soon, because I’ve always wanted to learn the language. An additional advantage will be that I will be able to fully understand the romantic texts in Arabic music. The emotions in the music are coming hard, but I would also like to know in detail what is being sung.

Are you hoping for a breakthrough in the Middle East? (Marie Verschuren, Kontich)

My English agents are currently trying to book shows for me in the Middle East. That is quite unseen: most artists do play in Israel, but never in Egypt or Lebanon. A tough logistical challenge, apparently. (laughs) But in those countries, many people are waiting for artists from the West to come and perform there. So that is one of my big dreams coming true.

I recently had a fantastic experience in Turkey. That audience is so very grateful. You get a lot in return as an artist. They sing every song they know and afterwards someone even came to tell me that he felt how important it is what I do. He was struck by the fusion of two worlds, the Arab and the Western. Two worlds that are always seen as separate entities in the media and public opinion, and would be impossible to unite. I am proud of that, yes, that my music can mean something in the idea that both cultures can merge.

“Do you know the book De alchemist by Paulo Coelho? I think several of your songs fit very well with this book. (Sigrid Verhaeghe, Diksmuide)

“Unfortunately I don’t know that book (‘The Alchemist’ is about a young shepherd who has one big wish: to travel the world in every corner to find out how it works. His dreams about a hidden treasure turn him on After many wanderings he meets the alchemist in Egypt,who has great spiritual wisdom, and advises the boy: "Listen to your heart, GVA .” But this is on my to-do list.“Reading a good book stimulates my creative brain much more than listening to good music. It influences both my lyrics and the music.“When reading a book, that feeling goes through my whole body. A book that has been very important to me in this way was Palace of Desire , by Nagieb Mahfoez. He also won the Nobel Prize for that.That book taught me a lot about my native Egypt.“At the moment I mainly read non-fiction, because I became intrigued by theology. At school I followed ethics, and I come from a liberal family. But a large part of my family is religious again, and I expect a revelation, no. (laughs) But I hope to learn more about their motives for believing.

“I find it hallucinatory that they had Kurt Cobain’s diary published after his death: isn’t that crazy personal?” Image: Tim Coppens

“I don’t really feel at home anywhere today, and maybe that also plays a role. I am a guy from Mortsel, but I also feel my Egyptian roots strongly. My Syrian ed teacher (a pear-shaped stringed instrument widely used in Middle Eastern music; GVA) also noticed: apparently I play a typical Egyptian quarter note, when I didn’t even know how the hell it should sound.

“When I recorded my debut, I mainly read Kahlil Gibran. I now even have a book with all his collected work: I always love those short stories and poems. You could indeed compare a poem with a lyric, but in my opinion that is different. There are only a few artists whose lyrics are as good as poetry. But then you should soon start looking in the direction of someone like Leonard Cohen. One of the many geniuses I will never be able to measure myself with. ”

A detail question maybe, but she’s been busy with me for two years. What the hell should we imagine with “a sound vile and yet devout”. “Choose something” or “free to fill in” I don’t think is a valid answer. (Lazer Huppeldepup, Ghent) “That line comes from …” Sun May Shine “? Sorry to think about it, I sometimes forget my own lyrics. (laughs) In that song I wanted to represent two opposite characters in a very dry, even cold way. One is very romantic, the other nihilistic. For a long time I had the feeling that I was somewhere in between. To be nihilistic, you have to let a dirty ego float to the surface, I thought. I still think sometimes. How else can you explain to yourself that your life is of great value, and that what you do is meaningful.

"Why do I find that thought dirty? If you take the trouble to zoom out, you will see that we don’t really mean anything in the light of eternity, or in this world of seven billion individuals coming and going. At the same time, the idea of a meaningful life is of sacred value, because it can be just what you keep giving.

“I have to say that I see less black and white today. Life may not make sense, but it does for the people around you. And that alone makes a difference.

“Leonard Cohen once said that it is a dangerous track for an artist to feel important. That is detrimental to your creative ambitions. Those who fall into that trap no longer make good art. I believe that too, but in the meantime I dare to say that I give a lot of myself when I am on stage, and that I do gain importance. I see performing or writing songs not as a form of narcissism, but as a craft in which I will never excel. I have been writing songs since I was fourteen, and I know it is an employment that I will probably never master in thirty years from now. That thought is sometimes unbearable, yes. But challenging at the same time. ”

Why does your music sound so terribly depressed, like you are going to throw yourself off a rock every moment? (Marc Poppe, Kapellen) (laughs) “I think I’m mainly looking for depth and stratification. The songs have to sound great, majestic, proud to me. You can compare it with the old Arabic music that I love: it often contains sadness, but it is always brought with a straight back. I do that as well.”

I would like to know if Tamino is straight or gay? (Marc Vancraybex, Zonhoven) (slightly mockingly) “You don’t know that? I think that’s a strange question. As if that would matter. Well, I also realize that there is a lot of confusion surrounding it, even though it is very clear in my lyrics that I like women. (laughs)

“You know, if I were gay I think it might be a great inspiration for people. So I am not offended by that question. Even if everyone in my audience thinks I am gay, my reaction would be: What then? Although I find it strange how important someone attaches to the idea whether I would be gay or straight. I’m straight, but sexuality shouldn’t be a defining factor of someone’s personality. That’s madness. I really can’t reach that.

“I don’t care who anyone falls on. What that question shows is that there is still a stigma surrounding someone who loves fashion, like me. Or around someone who reveals his feelings without problems, like me: I think that is often linked to sexual preference.

“Whether that question is relevant? Bwah… There is actually a very feminine energy in my music, so the question doesn’t really surprise me. But at the same time it is also obvious in my lyrics that I admire women, that I even put them on a pedestal. I just don’t think I should explain something like that.

“Applause is not enough. I have to open a lock, and when that energy mixes with space, I feel blissfully relieved or completely exhausted. "Image: Tim Coppens If music hadn’t become your career, what were you doing now? (Femke Soetens, Stekene) "Act. That was my first passion. Music has completely distracted me from that path. Between the ages of eight and sixteen I even attended evening school to become an actor. Which is funny today: even on stage I don’t feel like I’m acting for a second. Sometimes I really go deep during a concert. The intensity can vary from evening to evening, but I never play a role.

“I also liked that recently when I went to see Nick Cave in the Roma. Someone from the audience asked if he ever acted on stage, and his answer was so striking: he said there were different levels of Nick Cave, and he takes the most extreme level out of the closet on stage. That’s actually the same with me: what you see is the most condensed, spiritual version of myself.

“That is sometimes difficult, yes. But - and I’m probably going to quote Leonard Cohen often during this interview (laughs) - he once said he also had a hard time playing his songs every night. He wrote those songs in a certain context or for one person. To play those songs every night … it almost felt like vulgarizing a certain feeling. For that reason I have built in a certain brake, so that every song about someone in particular could also be about everyone else.

“But at the same time, with every performance I hope that such a song will haunt me again, that that intensity will also overwhelm me. Applause is not enough. I have to open a lock, and when that energy mixes with space, I feel blissfully relieved or completely exhausted. I can make peace with both feelings. It is the best drug you can take. (laughs) I have to find a state of consciousness that will make me at peace with everything that happens, with all the feelings that may come over me.

“In the beginning I was very perfectionist, and then I could disturb a concert for a long time because of the one song in which I did not find the right intensity. Fortunately, I can put that into perspective better today, otherwise the stage would be unlivable. ”

You often play in front of thousands of enthusiastic people, but I imagine you don’t feel so great or happy some of those days. How do you deal with that? (Yves Vanmarcke, Antwerp) “I often feel like the biggest fraud of the century. (laughs) Fortunately, I also believe what I see, so when I notice happy faces in the audience, I can go to sleep with confidence. Do you know what it is? When you act, you consciously or unconsciously create a myth around you. People only see you at your very best. I realize that I am in a very manipulative job, in which I only allow insight into the exciting things I do. Not on loneliness, restlessness or worry.

“But I don’t want to complain about that now either: I really pull up on the encouraging words I hear after every concert. I really keep those positive comments in my upstairs room. I used to hang on to criticism for too long, but it is no longer so. When I hear that someone from Sweden traveled to Germany to see me, and all his love is after my performance … that makes me genuinely happy. Then I don’t feel like a fraudster for a while. ”

When did you discover your beautiful voice, which can master both very low and very high tones? And what was the impetus to share it with the world? (Sigrid Verhaeghe, Diksmuide) “I didn’t like my own voice at first. Not really yet: I am happy that I can just read this interview, and not be forced to listen to myself. (laughs) That flat Mortsels alone: horrifying. But I have always loved to sing. As a child I sang constantly at home.

“And I was aware early on of what a voice can do. That high voice: that’s floating and crying, isn’t it? It is also very feminine and tender. That low voice is proud and … probably full of false self-assurance. I feel more grounded when I sing low. At such a moment I don’t have a hard time facing my audience. When I get the high notes, I am in a different world. ”

"You can compare my songs with the old Arabic music that I love: there is often sadness, but it is always brought with a straight back.” Image: Alex Vanhee

For me you undoubtedly have the most beautiful male voice in Belgium. Who is your favorite Belgian artist? (Pippa De Kinder, Leuven) “That is too difficult a question. Which names are going through my head? Pieter-Paul Devos from Kapitan Korsakov, Tom Barman from dEUS, Trixie Whitley. When you talk about talented people, everyone immediately pales in comparison to Trixie. Her groove is out of this world, that’s madness. When I hear her, I keep thinking, damn, I’d better just quit. (laughs) No, really.

“When I was 16, 17, I listened to Kapitan Korsakov’s” In the Shade of the Sun “every day: as a teenager I needed that song. I know little by now about Pieter-Paul. A fantastic, somewhat timid guy, completely different from that unguided missile on stage at Rocket Cannon. (laughs)

“What I find important in a voice? Musicality and sincerity. That does not have to be related to tightness, but once again with intensity. Isn’t that what it’s all about? A Bel Canto singer won’t hit me that easily. Someone who has something to say, and you hear that in his voice. ”

What are you afraid of? (Liesbet Portier, Gentbrugge) “I harbor quite a lot of fears. But there are degrees of fear. What if I fell from one day to the next, popp … I think the thought is unbearable. That I wouldn’t get a chance to say goodbye to everyone or tell them how much they meant to me. Not to mention all the unfinished work I would be leaving. That there would be something post mortem over which I have no control … that thought is horrible. I find it hallucinatory that they had Kurt Cobain’s diary published after his death: isn’t that crazy personal? For that reason alone I really want to grow old. Not that I think that many people would be awake by my thoughts if I die too early, but still. You can never know what they will do with your unfinished legacy. ”

What is the most difficult point in the creation process? (Dear Kwanten, Heverlee) “A song comes as it comes. I can’t possibly control that. The fact that my life has become a rollercoaster does not really affect what I make. I need space, privacy and silence to write. I was able to enforce it in between all the hustle and bustle. ”

Do you like to be alone? (Ana Brabant, Ghent) "Yes, pretty much. Are you done with those questions now? ” (laughs)

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