skandinavian_Artists > Outlandish

“Fortunately we got a wakeup-call and talked things over before it was too late. On the new record we reconnected with each other and with the love for life that drove us forward to begin with,” tells Lenny Martinez from the bands rehearsing- studio in Copenhagen, where the trio is preparing for the summer concerts and the presentation of their fourth album, Sound of a Rebel.

Outlandish decided to start fresh and dumped one and a half years work including 25 tracks. It hurt, but the members all agreed that it was a necessary step to take.
“In reality there was nothing wrong with the tracks, but something felt wrong inside of us and that reflected somehow in the music,” they all agree.
To sacrifice such a major work effort and start all over takes self confidence, but the band with the biggest international hits of this decade and the most award winning Danish music name, does not have any regrets. In six months they wrote, rapped, sampled and co-produced Sound of a Rebel, which is the trios most energetic and united album to date. More mature and delicate in the sound than the group’s first two releases, Outland’s Official and Bread & Barrels of Water, and more out averted than the previous.
“We are very satisfied with our previous releases that have brought a lot of good things our way, and still make sure that we are much requested internationally. But this is without doubt our most homogenous record and it is deep felt,” Waqas declares.

This time Outlandish teams up with super producers Frederik TAO (eight numbers), Bichi from Blue Foundation, Troo.L.S. and Louis Winding. That has created a collection of tight tracks full of life.
The inspirations are hip hop, soul and world music, and the catching chorus is lined up as it is their custom, so nothing new in that matter. In the first single Rock All Day, Outlandish puts the worries aside and gets the party started – or the title track which is about breaking the routines that the group found itself in, between hectically tour activity and professionalization of friendships. “In many ways that particular track says it all. It wouldn’t have been an honest album if we’d continued on as before. If we don’t feel the music then we are not doing well, and that is exactly where we would have ended up otherwise,” Isam determines. Waqas agrees and explains that the lyrics this time focuses on life seen through the sunglasses of the three Copenhageners, who have all started their own families now. There is less religion and politics, and more observations from the near world: “Our lyrics are always as taken straight out of a diary. Everything we tell is something we’ve experienced or can relate to.” Among the topics, there is also room for telling stories about being turned into a “price wog” in the media - or spokesmen for terror and other absurdities, they do not stand for. There are also stories about missing the lady at home, or seeing old friends from Brøndby Strand end up struggling in life. In this way Someday deals with the ongoing gang war that takes place in the streets of Copenhagen: “It is the story about the fact that things can start of as innocent pranks, but then you meet the wrong people and maybe try to get some attention from home, because something isn’t as it should be in the family. We’ve seen it so many times,” says Lenny. It is certain, that Outlandish’ own little family has sorted things out. Actually the members are so eager to exploit their rediscovered joy of playing, that it beats everything else in the 12-year long career of the trio. As Waqas describes the time after the completion of Sound of a Rebel: “After we’ve recorded an album I am usually so beat-up that I almost need a month’s vacation. This time I just feel like getting out there and show people what we are doing here.”

october 2009

Closer than Veins, the new album from Outlandish, is the result of nearly two years of intensive work in the studio and impressive determination to explore new paths. More than anything else, though, it is an unpredictable journey through catchy tunes, sterling production values and last but not least: attitudes and ambiance that reach out to the audience, borne by both yearning and hope.

Their first album, Outland’s Official (2000) mainly flirted with hip-hop, but its successor, Bread & Barrels of Water (2002) indicated that Outlandish was a band whose musical ambition was far greater than any single genre could encompass. In Closer Than Veins Outlandish emphasize that they’re a band that refuses to be pigeonholed just like that.

Outlandish work best where contrasts come together and on the face of it paradoxical notions like gravity and pop are not mutually exclusive. We get a taste of this in the opening single, ‘Look Into My Eyes’, which you could describe as a modern protest song drawing on obvious singer/songwriter references. The tune is mighty catchy; some listeners might even think it naïve. But it serves a greater purpose: the band combines this apparently innocent tune with manifest indignation and tangible criticism of society in the lyrics, thereby creating a contrast between the simple tune and the caustic seriousness of the lyrics, with Isam Bachiri’s charismatic vocals as the link between the two. Gods like Bob Dylan and Prefab Scout have not lived in vain. Not in Outlandish’s universe, either.
Elsewhere the references are more immediate: try the swinging ‘Just Me’, for example, with its organic track recalling Kanye West, while appealing to the attentive listener with a narrative about being shut out; or the aggressive hip-hop track ‘Kom Igen’ [Come Again], combining compositorial elements from old European Song Contest winner Dansevisen with protest songs camouflaged as double-tempo rap ... or should that be vice-versa?
The proud track ‘Any Given Time’ in which the predominant ambiance of the album, modern melancholy, seems encapsulated in just one single song, using a guitar hook mainlining on flamenco to make the listener flow through a movie-inspired universe of floating melody and gratitude; in the melting pot of ‘Beyond Words’ Outlandish plant the flag in a corner of the musical world very few people have ever visited before: and with Burhan G giving it the belle chanson, a suitcase load of Slavonic Gypsy samples and original narrative, Outlandish invite awe, make you think, and inspire respect.

Closer Than Veins shows that the band has developed at several levels: first and foremost, for the first time – with Waqas Qadri up front – they’ve picked up the production gauntlet to shape several of the fifteen tracks on the album, including the lead single ‘Look Into My Eyes’, the nostalgic ballad ‘I’ve Seen’, and an ode to life, ‘Sakeena’. Beyond that, the album has been produced in cooperation with Saqib & Jay-B Bisgaard, Maximum Risk, Lucas, Ahsan Qadri, Providers, and Mintman.
Outlandish have also refined their vocal idiom. Lenny Martinéz stands out with intonation even more varied than before; Waqas Qadri’s flow has become more complex and taut; and Isam Bachiri has dispelled for real any idea that he is “merely” a rapper occasionally able to sing. In other words song has become his own primary means of expression and thereby also that of the captivating tunes and in-your-face lyrics packing Closer Than Veins. What stands out about the lyrics is that they are about life: about people who’ve been given life; and not least, about the blood flowing in all our veins irrespective of race, status or where we were born.

Outlandish is a band on the move; and Closer Than Veins is a sumptuous oasis to quench our thirst before their journey takes the band and their music onward towards new destinations. Closer Than Veins will be released in 2006.

March 2006


Biography 2006


We live in times when political positions are becoming polarized and cultures are considered fenced-in entities that cannot be united. The world is often viewed through a faulty prism that divides “us” from “them.” That’s why it is such a tension-breaker when someone takes the time and uses their talent to remind us that we are all human beings. That the blood running through your veins is not significantly different from the blood that flows through your neighbour’s body, even though you may not share the same social status, political views, religious conviction or hail from the same latitude or longitude. This is where Outlandish enters the picture.

The story of Outlandish is an uplifting tale about three friends’ common adventure, which starts in the youth clubs and soccer fields of the western Copenhagen suburbs. A compelling tale of a band that has grown strong through a rare combination of hard work, friendship and the courage to explore new musical paths. At the same time, Outlandish is the story of a band that insists on the vantage point called “the world we live in,” and through subjective, grass-root musical narratives, tries to make a difference. Quite a bit has happened since Lenny Martínez, Waqas Qadri and Isam Bachiri broke ground in 1997 to build Outlandish and begin a career together.

Official fusion cuisine
The first milestone along the route to today is the debut album Outland’s Official (2000, released in Denmark only), which was received with open arms by the public and the critics. “Walou,” “Wherever” and “Come On” became solid radio hits. The trio from the western suburbs reaped numerous music awards, were nominated for six Danish Music Awards and took the prize for Best Hip-Hop Album.

With the release of Outland’s Official Outlandish publicly unveiled a unique mode of thought and approach to creating modern music: A musical, socio-cultural melting pot heated by the hip-hop Lenny, Waqas and Isam had had a passion for since early youth. It was like a special type of fusion cuisine in which the fundamental ingredients were clearly American, but with dashes of spices that might be beats, samples and snatches of Arab pop, Bollywood soundtracks as well as Latin American rhythms. The lyrics were expressed in English, Spanish, Urdu, Arabic – and Danish. Or as Isam later painted a verbal picture: “I was in my room listening to Tupac, my mother was playing Moroccan folk music on the stereo down in the living room, and somewhere along the line the idea popped into my head, that I could unite the elements of my life in music.”

Crossing borders
The follow up, Bread & Barrels Of Water (2002), proved to be the band’s true break-through. Songs such as “Guantanamo” and “Aicha” became powerful locomotives that carried Outlandish to a position among the absolute heavyweights of Danish popular music.

In 2003 an international version of Bread & Barrels Of Water was released throughout most of Europe, in India, and in all of the Middle East and North Africa. The single “Aicha” topped the charts in several European countries and received gold awards. So, Isam Bachiri, Lenny Martínez and Waqas Qadri – with, respectively, Moroccan, Cuban and Pakistani backgrounds – spend a longer period of time extensively touring Europe, along with numerous hops to the Middle East and India, where the album earned a gold record.
They supported Santana on his tour 2003 as well as visiting Destiny’s Child and Kelly Rowland on their respective tours. Outlandish participated in the MTV Awards in India in
2003 and received an award for Best Nordic Act on the Nordic Music Awards 2004 and won the award for Best International Release at the Arabic Music Awards in Dubai.


Thematically, the debut could safely be called the compilation of all the experiences posed by ethno-cultural differences during their early years, while the follow up was much more spiritual, introspective, and even the loyalty towards hip-hop - the formative genre - at times had to step aside for a new form of musical expression. With Bread & Barrels Of Water Outlandish took the initial steps into a world marked by a fascinating musical boldness and a personal, existential humility. This was accomplished, however, without
moving away from hip-hop, nor from the self realization acquired by individuals from immigrant backgrounds.


In motion
To be sure, it was a trio of well-traveled gentlemen who sat down at the studio console at the start of 2004 to begin recording a new album, now entitled Closer Than Veins. All the traveling really influenced the creation of Closer Than Veins. Waqas explains: “We were out there where things are happening. We met a big variety of different kinds of people, who live their lives in different ways, under a broad range of conditions. I believe it has helped us to see ourselves as human beings, as a part of the whole, as opposed to immigrants who are different from the world around them. It’s reflected in the way we address our lyrics and the way we make music ... “

When you hear entitled Closer Than Veins, you’ll know what he means. Outlandish has pulled out the tent stakes and moved their musical tent away from the shadow of hip-hop, where it has been until now. When you hear the 15 songs it will become clear that Outlandish is hardly stuck in a groove. The tent was deftly packed and then pitched amid all the genres and forms of expression in the world. The beauty and compelling appeal of the music bear witness to the creative self-confidence of the band members: 29-year-old Waqas, 28-year-old Isam and 30-year-old Lenny. From songs to rap and back to songs; from Outlandish’s own productions to tracks created in collaborations with other producers; from melancholy to the joys of life, as well as some social indignation – Outlandish displays more versatility than ever before. And the initial result is a fantastic third album.

Considering the quantum leaps the band has taken from album to album, it will be interesting to see how their music will leap into various areas of the world. One thing is sure: Outlandish has created its own definition of world music. And no matter how many differences there are in the world, the humble human being will be heartened, entertained and educated by listening to Outlandish.