Shkoon Grapple With Existential Doubt in New Single ‘Tired Way’

For a decade, Ameen Khayer and Thorben Diekmann - aka Shkoon - have been a defining voice on the organic house landscape, weaving subtle Middle Eastern sounds into hypnotic, driving rhythms. With their upcoming album, TRACES, however, the Syrian-German duo are looking to elevate their unique musical journey in what they are calling a new era of storytelling.

Set for release in March, 2026, the album’s first preview has come in the form of new single, ‘Tired Way’, which immediately establishes the emotional terrain of their first album since 2023’s Masrahiya.

This is not the loud, rousing introduction that one might expect from a lead single. It has a very deliberate and nuanced calm, and its foundation is built on measured, thoughtful production, allowing the gentle pulse of organic house to breathe alongside subtle echoes of Middle Eastern folk music. 

Inspired by the poetry of Syrian writer, Hussein Hamza, the central theme of 'Tired Way' revolves around the visceral experience of the emotional fatigue that comes amidst the existential feeling of being lost and adrift. The lyrics carry weight, but Khayer’s vocals are just as critical in landing the emotional blow - and that’s no coincidence. Khayer and Hamza both hail from Syria’s coastal region, grounding the track in a shared heritage, especially given Khayer’s activism. That grounding elevates the track and its exploration of emotional fatigue from something abstract into a tale of lived experience.  

The feeling of being weighed down by constant forward movement is directly tied to Hamza’s poetry, and reflects on this very particular type of heaviness while simultaneously mourning the fragile loss of innocence. However, the song doesn’t wallow in self-pity and passiveness - in fact, the last line “Let is remain young” almost acts as a call to action, a call for listeners to survive and protect their resilience during the inevitable storms of life.

‘Tired Way’ demonstrates the best quality of Shkoon’s - it doesn’t use history and heritage as a sample, but makes it part of the track's very DNA. The single offers a powerful statement on its own, but more significantly, it introduces the complex, narrative-driven promise of TRACES, which is shaping up to be the duo's most intimate work to date.