Simply Outlandish

lt was perhaps an apt culmination of a religious expo taking place in West London that Outlandish, a trio of religious individuals — two devout Muslims and one Catholic — opting to tell their tales via hip-hop, were selected for the stage finale.

While the expo itself attracted thousands of visitors over the weekend, it was Outlandish that the 1,000 expectant attendees were saving their loudest cheers for, sitting through all that preceded such as recitations, donation speeches, The Sound of Reason, and Kareem Salama. What made the night bearable was the uniqueness delivered by the line-up; Mo Amer, a Palestinian comedian who featured on Allah Made Me Funny, the acoustics of The Sound of Reason, the country music of the Oklahoma-born Salama, all followed by the main attraction of the evening.

While the crowd, ranging from infants to the elderly and of 17 different nationalities, held back the loudest of their cheers for over two hours — including a prayer break — there was no respite once Amer introduced Outlandish (comprising of Waqas Ali Qadri, Lenny Martinez and Isam Bachiri) to a resounding welcome.

Opening with Walou (from the second album Bread & Barrels of Water), Outlandish, and most-notably Isam, made their presence felt. While Waqas, who had arrived in London from Karachi hours before the performance, utilised breaks between songs to crack jokes ranging from Test cricket to the joyous act that is driving in Karachi, it soon became apparent that neither did he succeed as a stand-up comedian nor was the crowd in any mood to see the comical side of Outlandish and more of the special Spanish rap by Lenny.

Due to their varied background and upbringing, Outlandish’s music blends in different cultures, religions and languages. Although their songs are primarily in English, they usually feature lyrics in Spanish, Urdu, Danish, and Arabic. And as a sneak preview to the new album (to be launched at the start of 2009) was capably delivered, the back-to-back deliverance of I’ve Seen and Only You neatly summed up the fine blend of cultures and languages that makes the band so unique. The sing-alongs, at times, surprised the band but did manage to spur them on towards the night’s final performance: Look Into My Eyes, the lyrics based on a poem written by a teenage Palestinian girl, Gihad Ali.

There was no sign of Aicha, Eyes Never Dry or Peelo as the clocked ticked towards the closing hour with pleas, and supplication, for one final performance going unanswered. However, for all that preceded the evening’s anti-climax, it was a case of a satisfied attendees reluctantly making for the exits in expectation of a dreaded Monday. A special Monday, however, for it followed one moving and enthralling, but short, Outlandish performance.

© Faras Ghani 2008
Published in Images (Dawn newspaper) Jul 27, 2008