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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.
Outlandish's R&B/Hip-hop/Rap/soul music takes influences from their various backgrounds (Moroccan, Amazigh, Indian/Punjabi music, and Latin music), and although their songs are primarily in English, they usually feature lyrics in Spanish, Urdu/Punjabi, 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. MACLANES
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 (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" was principally written by Gihad Ali, whereas "Just Me", "Una Palabra" and "Nothing Left to Do" were 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 British Muslim musician. 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 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 5 March. The UK version of Closer Than Veins will contain a rendition of Bob Marley's Redemption Song.
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