Sami Yusuf is a popular singer and composer amongst Muslims worldwide. To his credit, he has sold over a million copies of his debut album Al-Mu’allim in the Muslim World. He has been featured on many channels and magazines including CNN, MBC, BBC.

Sami learnt to play several instruments at a very young age and gradually began to show a keen interest in singing and composing. He studied music at several institutions and with renowned composers and musicians including composers from the Royal Academy of Music in London, one of the world most prestigious music institutions. Sami has been composing from a very young age and his beautiful voice is supplemented by his extensive knowledge of music theory and harmony. He has also a good understanding of the Middle Eastern modes (or Maqams).

To date he has performed at sell out events all across the Muslim World from Istanbul to Casablanca, from USA to Germany. Recently he has been commissioned to compose the sound track for Hollywood Movie ‘The Kite Runner’ which is due to be released later this year.

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 neighbor’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 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.

I appreciate that thoughts, ideas or cultures which may seem opposite or different can come together cohesively to make something unique. I was born and raised in Ponca City, a small town at the edge of Green Country in Oklahoma, but my parents were born and raised in Egypt. When I was young I loved water painting but I was also an amateur boxer for years.

I enjoy classical Western poetry but I enjoy classical Arabic poetry as well. I have a degree in Chemical Engineering but now I’m finishing my last year in law school. I like country and blue grass music but I appreciate good R&B music as well. Oklahoma, like me, is a place where cultures meet and dance. Oklahoma is a hybrid of Southern, Western and Native American culture and thanks to my mother’s insatiable desire to learn and experience new things she made sure that I and everyone in my family was immersed in all of it.

I never planned on making a music album. I’ve just always found expressing myself through songs a soothing and cathartic practice, and then a series of events has led me to this endeavor. I don’t presume to make any grandiose statements about how my music will change the industry or change the world. My hope is that my words will fall upon ears and hearts that may be seeking the same thing I am seeking…the inspiration to live a virtuous life that is pleasing to God.

Perhaps the listener can find some inspiration in the words to live a better moment and perhaps that may lead to another better moment and another. One of my teachers taught me that goodness follows goodness and vice follows vice. If I can inspire the listener to ask a serious question about her or his life then that may lead to another question and, God willing, the quest for answers.

Hamza Robertson was born in Lancashire in the North-West of England. Since school through college, he involved himself in music and the performing arts. He was a part of the local theatre workshop, where he wrote music and acted in plays. He took part in a variety of bands beyond college, playing a variety of instruments and writing music. He still produces his own unique pieces.

Through his early academic career, Hamza played the keyboard and performed vocals and as such played in several bands, later becoming lead singer, keyboard player and guitarist in a band he formed with his friends. Hamza has undertaken a series of solo performances. He studied Performing Arts Popular Music for three years. In working with Awakening, Hamza aims to take part in a new dynamics in calling to God, or 'dawah', in a new world, through producing songs with a positive message. He feels that too many people know too little about Islam and the beauty of its essential values, values which bring about harmony between people, as opposed to discord.

Hamza believes that music, being a powerful source of energy, can be employed to influence people toward either good or bad. He feels there is too much 'negative music' in the world giving people the wrong message, and bringing about within them the desire to do things which are against their inherently pure nature, i.e their 'fitrah'.

Finally, a fresh new sound the industry has been craving to hear. Since they burst on the hip hop/rhythm Blues scene in early 2005 Francis and Ku better known as The Sound of Reason have been turning heads with their harsh honesty and opinionated lyrics setting themselves up as the next big hype. Fed up with having either professional sounding music with no content, or a solid message accompanied with poor produced instrumentals.

Meeting in high school, Francis and Ku began using music as a means of addressing important issues that concerned them. With their ability to write and produce their own material the two realized at a young age what a deep effect they could have on the world through their music. With a common goal they chose to call themselves The Sound Of Reason, a name which reflected a meaning behind their music in a time where musical reason was nowhere to be heard. With their fearless attitude, infectious personalities and all out showmanship they have quickly become one of the fastest growing movements to hit the world’s underground music scene in years

In their short time The Sound Of Reason have made themselves into not only one of the industries brightest talents but a movement in itself with its followers believing that not only the music, but the world has to change. Image defining tracks such as Help Me Change the World, Palestine and the politically savvy Rise prove the duo can maintain credibility with any genre. The new sound of the next generation is here and it is being ushered in by The Sound Of Reason.