Mishaal Tamer releases debut album Home Is Changing

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)

  1. ATARAXIA

  2. DISCO COWBOY

  3. NOBODY HOME

  4. SUPERMAN

  5. ALL NIGHT LONG

  6. SINNER

  7. GET OUT

  8. CIGARETTE

  9. 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. 

 About Mishaal Tamer

Mishaal was introduced to making music at the age of nine when he broke his arm. He suffered nerve damage in his arm which could’ve left him unable to move his hand and fingers if it wasn’t for the doctor’s suggestion to learn the guitar as a form of physiotherapy. While practising playing the instrument allowed Mishaal to regain control of his arm, hand, and fingers, it also gave him the opportunity to discover his love for music. When music was fully legalised in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Mishaal began to post his music on Instagram, and created his own songs using his laptop and Xbox microphone. He was later accepted to the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music in New York. During his second semester, Mishaal went viral overnight after posting a ten-second clip of his now smash hit ‘Can’t Love Myself’. Mishaal directed and released his first music video for his song ‘Arabian Knights’ in 2019 in his hometown of Jeddah.