Outlandish

Outlandish
File:Outlandish2.jpg Left to right: Isam Bachiri, Waqas Ali Qadri, Lenny Martinez
Background information
Years active	1997 – present
Members	Waqas Ali Qadri Isam Bachiri Lenny Martinez
Website	http://www.outlandmoro.com/

Outlandish is a multi-award winning Danish hip-hop group based in Denmark. Formed in 1997, they consist of Isam Bachiri Azouaoui (born in Denmark and of Moroccan background), Waqas Ali Qadri (born in Denmark and of Pakistani background), and Lenny Martinez (from Honduras). All three members are religious, with Isam and Waqas being devout Muslims, and Lenny being Catholic. The band members lived in Brøndby Strand.

History

Outlandish's R&B/Hip-hop/Rap/soul music takes influences from their various backgrounds (Moroccan, Amazigh, Indo-Pakistani, and Latin music), and although their songs are primarily in English, they usually feature lyrics in Spanish, Urdu, Danish, and Arabic. All these influences make the music of Outlandish somewhat unique and this is easy to notice from the variety of genres covered in their albums. Outlandish often include themes about Islam and contemporary issues facing young Muslims in the west in their music, and sometimes their songs define an urban nasheed-like unique genre.

Their single "Pacific To Pacific" was in connection with an Amnesty International charity event. Next came the single "Saturday Night", a song that was later to be included on the soundtrack for the Danish movie Pizza King. These singles were the prelude to their first album Outland's Official (2000) which was however only released in Denmark. The hit song "Walou" was later included on their second album Bread and Barrels of Water.

Singles from their even more successful second album Bread And Barrels Of Water (2003) made the most impact on the music charts. Hit singles included "Aicha" (first made famous by Khaled) which made it to number one in Germany and received a lot of airplay across many Asian countries. The video to "Aicha" also won a best music video award. "Guantanamo" also made a strong impression on the European charts. An old Urdu chorus running through "Peelo" made it a smash hit amongst Indians and Pakistanis living in the West.

Closer Than Veins

Closer than Veins (2005) is Outlandish's much anticipated third album. The first single was "Look Into My Eyes". The song's lyrics are based on a poem by Gihad Ali, a Palestinian who wrote the piece when she was a teenager; the poem expresses the plight of those suffering from America’s foreign policy with regards to Israel and Palestine. This album showcased the group's more mature outlook compared to their previous works. Tracks such as "Just Me" and "Una Palabra" give a rare insight into the life in Europe today as seen through the eyes of a second generation immigrant, whereas "Nothing Left To Do" perhaps the most daring and compelling track on the album boldly tackles the still taboo ridden issue of a young muslim man catching HIV

"Warm smile – long blond hair/Pretty green eyes and skin damned fair/For sure lucky to get with a girl like that/Couldn’t pass this chance no matter what...Pretty woman though, not all she seemed/Soon grim reality and not a dream/Wasn’t the first certainly not her last/Moment of weakness, became victim of her past."

Where Outlandish wrote all tracks on their first two albums Closer than Veins marked a departure in this respect particularly on the socially and politically heavy side the group has called in lyrical reinforcements. "Look Into My Eyes" is principally written by Gihad Ali, whereas "Just Me", "Una Palabra" and "Nothing Left To Do" are principally written by Omar Shah, who has also written Isam Bachiri's lyrics on "Try Not To Cry".

The album features a track ("I've Seen") with Sami Yusuf (a popular Muslim musician / nasheed artist). Outlandish have contributed to a track on Sami Yusuf's recent album My Ummah (2005) called "Try Not To Cry", and Waqas Ali Qadri also features on the nasheed boy-band 786's "Meditate" from their album Straight Path (2005). Such collaborations between artists are becoming increasingly popular in the Muslim music world. Other Danish music contemporaries who have occasionally collaborated with Outlandish include Majid and Burhan G.

Outlandish performed a live percussion version of "Look Into My Eyes" live performance Video at the "Islamophobia" conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark in May 2006 which was hosted by the "Islam Channel" and included many theological & political speakers and community leaders. Their club thumping single "Kom Igen" is featured on EA's FIFA 2007.

Outlandish have recently revealed on their MySpace site details of two new (bonus) tracks "In Good Hands" and "Angels Lower Their Wings" on the deluxe version of their current album "Closer Than Veins". They were the only Danish act performing at the European MTV Awards 2006, where they also won the prize for 'Best Danish Act'. Recently the group has also perfomed at the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit [1] conference in Toronto Canada, lending further credit to the theory that they are becoming more of an "Islamic Band".

Closer Than Veins is set for a UK release by Sony BMG on the 26th of March 2007, with "Look Into My eyes" being released as the first single on 5th March. The UK version of Closer Than Veins will contain the new tracks Keep It Halal and a rendition of Bob Marley's Redemption Song.

Controversies

Danmarks Radio (DR - The Danish Broadcasting Services) provoked an outcry when, allegledly on behalf of demands from Outlandish, they "censored" the broadcaster’s annual Christmas show because the popular group didn’t want to perform alongside a female singer with bare shoulders. The outcome was that the singer was moved further away on the stage" The censorship by DR was even brought up in the Danish parliament. This was refuted by Outlandish as being false, and their record label Sony BMG released a statement to the Danish press dismissing the rumours as untrue.

Following the bands performance at the annual RIS [2] in Toronto in December 2006, the openly anti-immigration, racist and islamophobic Danish People's Party called for a boycott of the group, for having attended an "Islamist Conference".

The controversies have highlighted the difficulties for the group in pleasing both their increasingly muslim fan-base and at the same time maintain their phenomenal success in the world of commercial music.

Music With Meaning

The band have recently helped form the umbrella organisation Music With MeaningOfficial Website that aims to bring together like-minded artists in order to promote and produce inspirational and meaningful music. Its moto is "If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything".

Discography

Albums

• Outland's Official - (2000)
• Bread And Barrels Of Water - (2003)
• Beats, Rhymes & Life - (2004) - Collaborative album with many artists including The Fugees, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Junoon
• Closer Than Veins - (2005)

Non-album singles

• "Belly Dance"
• "Man binder os på mund og hånd"
• "Pacific To Pacific" - in connection with an Amnesty International
• "Saturday Night" from "Pizza King" OST

Album singles

Outland's Official (2000)

• "Intro"
• "Mano A Mano" (feat. Majid)
• "Wherever"
• "The Bond Between Us"
• "Come On"
• "CPH Moro" (feat. Majid & Creative)
• "Love Joint"
• "Stick ´Em Up"
• "ILL Kebab"
• "Renovadores" (feat. Majid, Acorn & Jokeren)
• "Heads To The Sky"

Songs originally on "outlands Official" Repeated on "Bread and Barrels of Water"

• "Walou"Video
• "Fatima’s Hand" (feat. Majid)

Bread & Barrels of Water (2003)

• "Introduction"
• "Guantanamo" - # 1 DK Video
• "Peelo"
• "Walou"Video
• "Aicha" # 1 GERVideo
• "Gritty"
• "Interlude"
• "If Only"
• "Fatima’s Hand" (feat. Majid)
• "El Moro" (feat. Majid)
• "Eyes Never Dry"
• "A Donkey Named Cheetah" (feat. Majid)
• "Dirty Dirty East"
• "Life is A Loom"

Beats, Rhymes & Life (2004) (collaborative album)

• "Walou (Rishi Rich Remix)" (Outlandish)
• "Vocab" (The Fugees)
• "Respect" (Alliance Ethnik feat. Vinia Mojica)
• "Past, Present, Future" (Majid)
• "Chan Chan" (Compay Segundo)
• "Ya Rayah" (Rachid Taha)
• "Sohniye" (Juggy D)
• "Dil Se/ Satrangi Re" (Sonu Nigam & Kavita Krishnamurthy)
• "Aicha (Proper Pak Remix)" (Outlandish)
• "We Are" (DJ Jazzy Jeff feat. Cy Young & Raheem)
• "Inshallah" (Goodie Mob)
• "Min Tid" (Petter Alexis)
• "Quien Me Tienda La Mano Al Pas" (Pablo Milanes)
• "La Maza" (Mercedes Sosa)
• "Sweet Pain" (Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan')
• "Ghoom" (Junoon)

Closer Than Veins (2005)

• "Introspective"
• "Any Given Time"
• "Look Into my Eyes" Video
• "Just Me"
• "Kom Igen" (feat. U$O, ADL & Salah Edin)Video
• "Nothing Left to do"
• "Beyond Words" (feat. Burhan G)
• "Words Stuck to Heart"
• "Reggada" (feat. Taibi & Dany Raï)
• "Callin’ U"
• "Sakeena"
• "I’ve Seen" (feat. Sami Yusuf)
• "Una Palabra" (feat. Majid)
• "I Only Ask Of God" Video
• "Appreciatin'"
• "In Good Hands" (Bonus Track on the Deluxe/International Album)
• "Angels Lower Their Wings" (Bonus Track on Deluxe/International Album)
• "Redemption Song" (on UK version of album)
• "Keep It Halal" (on UK version of album)

Music videos

• "Aisha"Video
• "Walou"Video
• "Guantanamo"Video
• "Look Into my Eyes" Video
• "Kom Igen" Video (Featuring U$O, and originally swedish rapper ADL and Salah Edin although they are not featured in the video)
• "I Only Ask Of God"Video

External links

• Outlandish Official Website
• Official Outlandish MySpace Website and Blog
• Music With Meaning
• Music With Meaning MySpace site/blog
• Waqas from Outlandish is interviewed by Ashanti OMkar
• Elmoro4Life.com The most comprehensive unofficial Outlandish fan site/forum
• muslimphotos.net Pictures of an Outlandish performance