LISTEN HERE
INCLUDES FOCUS TRACK ‘ATARAXIA’
Today, half Saudi half Ecuadorian rising star Mishaal Tamer has released his highly anticipated debut album Home Is Changing via Arabian Knights Records/EMPIRE (listen here). The album, complete with 33 tracks, consists of five chapters each representing a different theme, the chapters are: THE DEEP, THE HEART, THE HEARTBREAK, THE DREAM, and THE RETURN. HOME IS CHANGING opens with focus track ‘ATARAXIA’, a track combining a stunning piano instrumental with a hip hop inspired beat. Among the new songs, the album includes recently released singles ‘KEEP IT UP’, ‘ITTY BITTY’, and ‘BABA FEIN’. HOME IS CHANGING’s stunning artwork was shot in Taif in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking about the album, Mishaal says: “As the album is called Home Is Changing, I thought the artwork needs to be shot in Saudi Arabia. People think Saudi Arabia is just oil and desert – but it’s not, and I wanted to show that with this album. That’s why the artwork has the river and the meadows, the greenery in general. There’s also my dog there as well, Gandalf also known as Boo Boo. He’s helped me through a lot, and he was there through the creation of this album. The most important part of the artwork is the greenery, which is to give people a fresh look on what Saudi Arabia is. We’re a lot more than the misconceptions.
A big part of this project is highlighting the change and an important part in doing that is changing people’s perception on what Saudi Arabia is. It’s not an unsafe country. We can host the Winter Olympics, and we can have incredible music festivals and incredible resorts.
I’m proud, I’m super proud. I’m proud to show my country for what it is and not what people think it is. My job as a Saudi is to showcase us since our doors have opened to the world. I’m saying “Hey, this is us… but this is also us”. We have these rivers and these fields; it’s a statement to say we are more than what you think.”
HOME IS CHANGING tracklist:
Disc 1 (THE DEEP)
- ATARAXIA
- DISCO COWBOY
- NOBODY HOME
- SUPERMAN
- ALL NIGHT LONG
- SINNER
- GET OUT
- CIGARETTE
- AL CIGARA
Disc 2 (THE HEART)
10. PAINFUL PARADISE
11. MAMA DON’T GO
12. LIFE’S ALL WORK
13. LOVE ME LOVE
14. SAD BABY
15. AL SIGALA
Disc 3 (THE HEARTBREAK)
16. NASKAR
17. RAIN
18. KEEP IT UP
19. ITTY BITTY
20. THE GREATEST SHOW
21. PACKWOOD
22. “out of words”
Disc 4 (THE DREAM)
23. BABA FEIN
24. TIME GOES BY
25. MISTER LONELY
26. DIVISION BELLS
27. THE GREATEST
Disc 5 (THE RETURN)
28. THE RETURN
29. BACK FROM THE DEEP
30. 966
31. HOME IS CHANGING
32. WALLAH
33. TYSM
Boasting over 1.5 million monthly Spotify listeners and 925k followers on TikTok, Mishaal’s music is a unifying force among the youth of Saudi Arabia. Mishaal is the first modern musician from his country to make an impact within the global music industry, which was marked in 2020 when Mishaal became the first Saudi artist to sign to a major record label. Tamer, who sings in Spanish, English, and Arabic, now works under independent label Arabian Knights Records/EMPIRE.
Despite his success in Saudi Arabia and beyond, Mishaal completed his first headline show only this year. The event was the first ever fully Saudi concert complete with support from female Saudi musicians Fulana and Tamtam. In May, Mishaal made his UK live debut with a remarkable sold out headline show at London’s Camden Assembly. Since 2023, Mishaal has supported Grammy Award-nominated band OneRepublic at various shows in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, including their sold-out one-off show at London’s Wembley Arena last summer, and most recently in Mexico City. Mishaal will be returning to Europe at the end of November for a headline tour with shows in Berlin, Paris, Koln.
Earlier this year, Mishaal released ‘WINNER WINNER‘as part of the soundtrack for mobile game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. No stranger to the gaming world, Mishaal also released ‘Mirage’with OneRepublic for the Assassin’s Creed franchise and created a soundtrack for GAMERS8, the biggest gaming festival in the world, in 2023.
