Kintarou - Musik

Quarashi Was A Rap And Hip-Hop Group From Reykjavík Iceland. It Was Composed Of Hössi Ólafsson Replaced By Tiny Real Name Egill Olafur Thorarensen On The Final Album Who Was The Lead Vocalist And Frontman Of The Group Ómar Swarez Ómar Örn Hauksson Rapper And Hype Man And Steini A.K.A. Stoney Steinar Orri Fjeldsted Also Rapper And Hype Man. The Fourth Member Of The Group Was Sölvi Blöndal Who Was Their Producer Keyboardist Percussionist And Drummer. He Also Helped In The Songwriting Process. For Live Shows Quarashi Was Joined By A Guitarist Smári "Tarfur" Jósepsson Later Replaced By Vidar Hákon Gislason A Bassist Gaukur Úlfarsson And A DJ DJ Dice Later Replaced By DJ Magic . The Group Has A Loyal Following Especially In Their Native Iceland. Each Of Their Records Switchstance Quarashi Xeneizes Kristnihald Undir Jökli Jinx Guerilla Disco Sold Well In Their Homeland. Quarashi Was A Rap Group But They Combined Elements Of Rock Techno And Funk Into Their Songs Lending An Air Of Unpredictability To Their Music. Comparisons To Rage Against The Machine Eminem And The Beastie Boys Are Often Heard When Discussing Quarashi But The Group Had A Unique Style That Distinguished Them From Other Famous Rap/rock Groups. Their Influences Ranged From Public Enemy Blöndal Says That P.E.'s Fear Of A Black Planet Is What Inspired Him To Make Music To Led Zeppelin And That Can Be Heard In Their Songs.Contents Hide 1 History 1.1 Pre-Quarashi Days
1.2 Quarashi Become Stars In Iceland 1996–1999 1.3 Quarashi Reach America 2000–2002 1.4 Hössi Leaves 2003 1.5 Tiny 2003–2004 1.6 Guerilla Disco 2004–2005 1.7 The End Of Quarashi 2005 1.8 Quarashi Today
2 Band Members
3 Discography 3.1 Albums
3.2 EPs
3.3 Singles
3.4 Videos
4 References
5 External Links Edit History Edit Pre-Quarashi Days Sölvi And Ómar Met When They Were Children During A Protest Against A U.S. Military Base In Iceland. They Both Played In Several Different Rock Punk And Heavy Metal Bands While Steini Was A Famous Skater Who Had Won Numerous Championships. He Was Also A Well-Known Graffiti Artist Around Reykjavík. During His Time As The Drummer For The Punk Rock Band 2001 Sölvi Began To Develop A Preference For Studio Production Over Band Rehearsal-Style Song Writing. He Also Wanted To Produce Different Types Of Music Besides Industrial Rock And Punk So He Quit 2001 And Began Making Rap Music. At Around The Same Time Sölvi Met Steini At A Skate Park While He Was Doing Community Service For Public Drunkenness. The Two Hit It Off And Stoney Joined Sölvi In Making Rap Music. Soon Sölvi Invited Fellow Former 2001 Band Member Hössi Ólafsson The Two Had Met When They Both Went To The University Of Iceland To Join His Group. Originally Hössi Would Sing While Steini Would Rap But When Sölvi Heard Hössi Rap He Decided That His Musical Group Would Have Two Rappers. The Three Men Had Wanted To Create MC Names For Themselves But Had Trouble Coming Up With Anything Decent According To Sölvi Except For The Name Quarashi Which Means "supernatural" In Arabic Which Was Suggested By Steini. Quarashi Was Steini's Nickname As A Skater And Was Spray-Painted All Over The Walls And Streets In Reykjavík. The Three Decided That Quarashi Was A Better Name For Their Group Than Their Original Name And So In 1996 In A Garage In A House In Reykjavík Iceland Quarashi Was Formed. Edit Quarashi Become Stars In Iceland 1996–1999 Quarashi Quickly Went To Work On Creating Music. On 29 November 1996 They Released Their First Record An EP Entitled Switchstance Under Sölvi's Record Label Lax Records. Only 500 Copies Were Made Of The Five Song Disc All Sold In A Week. The EP Topped The Icelandic Album Charts Driven By The Popular Title Track. Today It Is Rare To Find A Copy Of Switchstance Now Considered A Collector's Item. Quarashi Was The First Rap Act To Find Major Success In Iceland So The Demand For The Group Was High. The Q Boys Quickly Went Back To Their Studio At Bergstaðarstræti Nýjasta Tækni Og Vísindi To Continue Recording The Music That Would Make Up Their First Album. A Year Later On 13 October 1997 Quarashi Released Their Self Titled Début Album Dubbed "The Egg Album" By Fans For The Egg On The Cover . The Album Immediately Topped The Icelandic Album Charts Thanks To Its Collection Of Catchy Rap Songs Such As "Thunderball" "Catch 22" "Mr. Amber Shades" "Superwoman" And "Framogtilbaka". Richard Oddur Hauksson Was Credited On Quarashi As The Fourth Member Of Group As The DJ Which He Also Was Credited As On Switchstance But Today He Has Faded Into Relative Obscurity Because Most Fans Consider The Original Quarashi Line-Up To Be Sölvi Hössi And Steini. Unlike Switchstance Steini And Hössi Traded Verses On Most Of The Songs Whereas Stoney Rapped More On Switchstance Than Hössi. 6 000 Copies Of "The Egg Album" Were Made And All Soon Sold When? The Album Going Gold In Iceland. Like Switchstance It Is Rare To Find A Copy Of Quarashi But The CD Is Found On EBay Every Once In A While. Quarashi Were Now Stars In Their Homeland Becoming One Of Iceland's Hottest Musical Acts Performing Sold-Out Shows All Over The Small Nation. Their Mix Of Catchy Rap Songs Fused With Rock Funk And Techno Accompanied By The Smooth But Sometimes Silly And Nonsensical Rhymes From Hössi And Stoney Garnered Love From Both Fans And Critics Alike. Quarashi Toured All Over Iceland To Support The Album Including Performances As The Opening Act For Both The Fugees And The Prodigy And Then Took A Brief Hiatus From Making Music In 1998. On 25 October 1999 Quarashi Returned With Their Second Album Xeneizes Named After The Nickname Given To Fans Of The Argentine Football Team Boca Juniors. Xeneizes Picked Up Where Quarashi Left Off Featuring More Of The Sometimes Serious Sometimes Silly Lyrical Stylings And Singing Talents Of Hössi And Steini. The Album Also Featured Special Appearances By Icelandic Rappers Ciphah On The Song "Mayday" And Ómar Swarez On The Songs "Punk" And "Stick 'Em Up" Who Was Not An Official Member Of Quarashi Yet He Had Rapped On Some Of Their Songs Previously . Xeneizes Was Another Hit Album For Quarashi Topping The Icelandic Album Charts Due To Such Tunes As "Surreal Rhyme" "Jivin' About" "Model Citizen" "Tamborine Cut" "Show Me What You Can" And "Xeneizes". Several United Kingdom Record Labels Began Showing Interest In Quarashi But The Group Turned Down All Offers. 6 000 Copies Were Made Of Xeneizes And Once Again All Sold Out Making Xeneizes The Second Quarashi Album To Go Gold In Iceland. Edit Quarashi Reach America 2000–2002 Quarashi Had Never Specifically Ventured To Find A Record Label In The U.S. And Were Content With Their Success In Iceland. But By The Time Xeneizes Was Released American Record Labels Had Started Paying Attention To The Group. In The Meantime Ómar Swarez Officially Became The Fourth Member Of Quarashi Becoming The Third Rapper In The Group. After Hearing The Xeneizes Album Specifically The Song "Stick 'Em Up" Which According To Sölvi Sounded Like Something Limp Bizkit Would Do EMI Music Resources Contacted Quarashi To Perform At The Iceland Airwaves Music Festival Hosted By EMI In Conjunction With Flugleiðir In New York City In The Fall Of 1999. The Group Performed Two Shows To Rave Reviews. The EMI Emissary Met With Quarashi And The Group Went Into A Studio Which Sölvi Has Claimed Was Also A "crack House" To Record Six Songs Four With Vocals With The EMI Emissary Watching Them. In February 2000 Quarashi Began Negotiations With Record Labels Wrote Some New Songs And Performed Shows For Record Executives. During One Of These Shows At The New York City Club Brownies A Stage Monitor Blew Up Nearly Causing A Riot Which Added To The Appeal Of Quarashi In The Record Executives Eyes. On 27 April 2000 It Was Announced That Quarashi Had Signed A Deal With EMI Music Resources Giving The Group Creative Control. Soon After They Were Signed To Independent Record Label Time Bomb Recordings. On 31 August 2000 Quarashi Announced That They Had Signed With Sony Music Entertainment Incorporated Under The Columbia Records Label. The Deal Was To Last For 6 Albums The First Of Which Would Be Produced In Collaboration With Cypress Hill DJ DJ Muggs And Brendan O'Brien Who Was The Recording Director For The Red Hot Chili Peppers Breakthrough Hit Album Blood Sugar Sex Magik And Helped Produced Three Of Rage Against The Machine's Hit Albums Evil Empire The Battle Of Los Angeles And Renegades. Quarashi Moved To New York City To Begin Making Their American Debut Album. After The Recording Of The Album Sölvi Blöndal And Hössi Ólafsson Produced The Soundtrack For The Halldór Laxness Play Kristnihald Undir Jökli Which Was Directed By Bergur Þór Ingólfsson And Ran In The Borgarleikhús In The Winter Of 2001. The Album Released On 22 September 2001 Was Filled With Original Music Written And Produced By Sölvi And Hössi And Was Released Under The Quarashi Name. Only 500 Copies Of Kristnihald Undir Jökli Were Made But Most Of The Copies Were Sold And Today The CD Is A Rarity. Kristnihald Undir Jökli Fused Traditional Icelandic Classical Music With Techno Electronic Music And Rock. The Album Also Delved Into Genres Fans Hadn't Heard From Quarashi Yet Such As Jazz. Also During The Fall Of 2001 Quarashi Performed A Live Concert With The Icelandic Symphony Orchestra The Band Botnleðja Also Performed In The Háskólabíó In Reykjavik Which Is Notable For Being The First Time That A Rap Act Performed A Live Concert With The Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. Quarashi's First Single From Their American Debut Album "Stick 'Em Up" Was Released In February 2002 To Much Fanfare. The Music Video Which Was A Parody Of The Film Snatch Was In Heavy Rotation On MTV2 As Promotion Began For Quarashi's Next Album Which Was Titled Jinx. At Long Last On 9 April 2002 Jinx Was Released In America. Jinx Was A Collection Of 5 New Songs "Mr. Jinx" "Baseline" "Malone Lives" "Copycat" And "Weirdo" And 7 Songs From Xeneizes "Stick 'Em Up" "Tarfur" "Jivin' About" "Xeneizes" "Fuck You Puto" "Dive In" "Bless" . "Stick 'Em Up" "Tarfur" "Jivin' About" "Xeneizes" And "Fuck You Puto" Were Rerecorded With "Jivin' About" Being Retitled "Transparent Parents". Only "Dive In" And "Bless" Remained Unchanged. Although There Were Now Three Rappers In Quarashi There Wasn't Any Song On The Album That Featured All Three Emcees. Instead Hössi Ólafsson Rapped The Most On Jinx And Sang On "Dive In" . Ómar Swarez Rapped Several Verses On "Stick 'Em Up" And "Weirdo" And Rapped A Verse On "Baseline" "Copycat" And "Fuck You Puto". Ómar Also Sang The Chorus To "Malone Lives" And Did Background Vocals On "Mr. Jinx" And "Transparent Parents". Steini A.K.A. Stoney Rapped A Verse On "Tarfur" "Transparent Parents" Where He Sang The Chorus And "Xeneizes" And Also Did Background Vocals On "Stick 'Em Up" "Mr. Jinx" "Baseline" And "Fuck You Puto". Jinx Received Mixed Reviews. Some Critics Loved The Group's Eclectic Mix Of Rap Rock Funk And Techno While Others Saw The Group As Ripoffs Of Other More Successful Rap/rock Acts Like The Beastie Boys And Limp Bizkit. Despite "Stick 'Em Up" Receiving Heavy Rotation On Rock Radio Stations And MTV2 And Reaching Number 27 On The Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart And Despite Jinx Receiving Praise From Several Critics Jinx Débuted At Number 104 On The Billboard 200 Albums Chart And Then Fell 40 Spots To Number 144 One Week Later. Jinx Never Cracked The Top 40. Quarashi Encountered Some Problems During Their Time At Columbia Records. For One Complications In Their Contract Delayed The Release Of Jinx. Originally Scheduled For Release In January 2001 The Album Was Pushed Back To February 2002 Then March 2002 Before Finally Being Released That April. Another Problem Quarashi Encountered Was That They Were Marketed As A Rap-Rock Band When They Were Actually A Rap Group That Used Rock And Punk Guitar Riffs Funk Samples And Techno Beats In Their Songs. While Quarashi Is Seen In Iceland As Unique And Creative In America Which Has A Market Filled With Rap-Rock Bands Such As 311 P.O.D. And Linkin Park Quarashi Was Seen As Nothing More But A Generic Unoriginal Rap-Rock Band Designed To Cash In On The Slowly Declining Rap-Rock Genre. Despite Quarashi Stating In Numerous Interviews That They Were In Fact Not A Rap-Rock Band They Were Still Considered One By Both Critics And The American Public. Because Of This Point Of View And Because Of Columbia Records' Weak Marketing Of Quarashi The Group Faltered In The U.S. By November 2002 Promotion For Jinx Had Ended And The Group Quietly Faded Away Into Obscurity In America. Despite Not Becoming The Very Popular And Massively Successful Group That They Are In Iceland Quarashi Did Find Some Success And Got Some Recognition In The United States. They Were A Part Of Ad Campaigns For MTV2 And Levi's Low Rising Jeans. Spin Magazine Named Quarashi One Of The "Bands To Watch" In 2002. The Singles From Jinx "Stick 'Em Up" And "Mr. Jinx" Have Been Used As Background Music In Several Movie Trailers And TV Shows Such As 2 Fast 2 Furious Alias Smallville And Commercials For The NBA On TNT. Some Of The Songs From Jinx Have Appeared In Several Video Games Including Amplitude NFL Blitz 2002 And Transworld Snowboarding While "Mr. Jinx" Was Apart Of The Soundtrack For The Best Selling Madden NFL 2003 Video Game. The Music Video For "Mr. Jinx" Was In Regular Rotation On MTV MTV2 And MuchMusic Now Fuse TV And Was Voted As The MTV Viewers Pick For The Week Of 20 September 2002 Although The Video Would Be Shown On The Three Music Video Channels For About 3 Months And Then Was Never Shown On Any Of Those Channels Ever Again. "Stick 'Em Up" Was Nominated For A 2002 MTV Video Music Award For Best Art Direction Which They Lost To Coldplay's "Trouble" . And Perhaps Most Importantly Quarashi Was A Part Of The Vans Warped Tour In The Summer Of 2002. Since The Warped Tour Is One Of The Biggest And Most Anticipated Tours In The U.S. It Was Considered A Big Deal For Quarashi To Be A Part Of The 2002 Edition Of What Is Known As "punk Rock Summer Camp" That Went All Over The U.S. And Featured Such Famous Rock Acts As NOFX Good Charlotte And The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. After The Vans Warped Tour Ended Quarashi Began A Tour Of Japan Where Were More Successful. Japan Is Only Second To Iceland In Terms Of Quarashi Fans With The Jinx Album Being A Huge Hit In "The Land Of The Rising Sun". The Q Boys Then Travelled To Australia And Then Europe But Were Only Moderately Successful On Those Continents. After Spending The Summer And Fall Of 2002 Performing Around The World Quarashi Took A Break In Reykjavík. In The End Jinx Ended Up Selling A Little More Than 100 000 Copies In America. While This Was Considered A Success By The Boys Of Quarashi It Was Looked At As A Huge Disappointment By Sony As The Album Failed To Make Quarashi The Mega-Successful Rap-Rock Group They Were Banking On. Because Of This Rumours Started Circulating That Quarashi Was Going To Be Dropped From Columbia Records. Meanwhile Hössi Ólafsson Was Growing Tired Of Being A Member Of An Internationally Touring Musical Act And Let It Be Known To His Fellow Quarashi Members That He Was Thinking Of Leaving. He Also Claimed That He Was Forgetting How To Speak Icelandic Due To Being Away From Iceland For Long Periods Of Time. Edit Hössi Leaves 2003 Just Before Christmas 2002 Hössi Ólafsson Left The Group To Enroll Back Into The University Of Iceland And To Get Away From The Music Industry And Lead A Normal Life. Quarashi Announced Hössi's Departure On Their Official Messageboard On 3 January 2003. It Was A Shock To Fans That Ólafsson Who Was Only 23 Years Old At The Time Would Leave The Group Just After They Released Their First Album In America The First Of 6 Albums They Were Supposed To Release While Being Apart Of The Columbia Records Label. Nonetheless Sölvi Vowed That Quarashi Wouldn't End And That They Would Find A New Rapper To Replace Hössi. The Remaining Three Members Of Quarashi Were Out Of The Public Eye In First Half Of 2003 As They Searched For A New Rapper. Quarashi Popped Up In July With A Brand New Song "Mess It Up" Which Featured Steini Trading Verses With Underground Icelandic Rapper Good Friend And Member Of The Icelandic Rap Group O.N.E. Opee Real Name Ólafur Páll . The Song Was Released Only In Iceland And Was A Hit Reaching Number 1 On The Icelandic Mainstream And Alternative Singles Charts And Winning The Icelandic EFFEMM Award For 2003 Song Of The Year And The EDDA Award For 2003 Video Of The Year. Rumours Circulated That Opee Would Be The Newest Member Of Quarashi But Opee Turned Down The Spot Saying That He Wanted To Concentrate On O.N.E. He Did Two More Songs With Quarashi "Orð Morð" Featuring Icelandic Musician Jóhann G. Jóhannsson And "Shady Lives" An Unreleased Track. Opee Performed With Quarashi At Menningarnótt Culture Night In Reykjavík In August 2003 And Also Performed With Quarashi At The CMJ New Music Festival At Tobacco Road In New York City On 23 October 2003 Before Going Back To O.N.E. Quarashi Disappeared Again In The Fall Of 2003 As They Continued Their Search For A Replacement For Hössi. Then That Fall Sölvi Heard A Song Called "Straight Execution" By An Underground Rapper From Iceland. The Moment Blöndal Heard This Song He Knew He Had Found The Newest Member Of Quarashi. Blöndal Had Seen This Rapper Before As He Had Been A Judge In A Freestyle Rap Competition Which This Rapper Had Competed In. Sölvi Had Been Impressed When He Heard This Rapper Freestyle In The Competition And He Was Impressed When He Heard This Song. So Sölvi Called The Rapper On The Phone And Told Him That He Wanted To Work With Him. The Rapper Worked With Quarashi For Some Time Before Quarashi Decided To Add Him To The Group. Edit Tiny 2003–2004 On 13 November 2003 Quarashi Released A New Song Exclusively In Iceland Entitled "Race City". The Song Had The Type Of Sound Fans Had Come To Expect From Quarashi Except That Instead Of Hössi's Zach De La Rocha Sounding Voice Being Heard The Most What Fans Heard Was A Voice That Sounded Like Eminem's. That Voice Belonged To Tiny Who Was Quarashi's Newest Member. Quarashi Made The Official Announcement On 16 November 2003. Tiny Is A Short 20 Something Who Bears A Resemblance In Both Voice And Appearance To Eminem And Dresses And Acts Like A Thug Which Immediately Distinguished Him From Hössi's "nerdy" Persona. There Was Mixed Reaction To The Announcement. Some Fans Refused To Accept A Quarashi Without Hössi. While Others Welcomed Tiny With Open Arms And Were Ready For Quarashi's New Sound. Many Fans Thought That "Race City" Would Be The First Single Off Of Quarashi's Next Album But The Song Was Later Taken Off The Album When Sölvi Decided That "Race City" Didn't Reflect The New Direction Quarashi Was Taking. Now It Is Considered By Fans To Be A Song Made To Introduce Tiny To The World. "Race City" Was Still Released As A Single Reaching Number 1 On The Icelandic Alternative Singles Chart. Following The 24 November Première Of The "Race City" Music Video The Q Boys Went Back To Work Rehearsing And Writing Songs In Their Reykjavík Studio With A Goal To Release An Album By The End Of 2004. Anticipation Was Running High And Quarashi Would Only Heightened The Anticipation By Opening Their On-Line Blog Which Would Serve As Their Official Website In December Of 2003. Quarashi Would Update Their Blog Several Times A Day With New Messages Pictures And Videos That Would Show Their Progress In The Making Of Their New Record. Quarashi Would Soon Take A Break From Song Writing And Rehearsals To Make Their Return To Live Performing As A Way To Have The Fans Warm Up To Tiny And As A Way To Promote Their New Album. Tiny's First Live Performance With Quarashi Occurred On 20 December 2003 At The Club NASA In Reykjavík. The Q Boys Traveled To Japan Once Again To Perform At The 2 Day Sonicmania Concert In Tokyo In January 2004 And Then Performed "Race City" At The 2004 Icelandic EFFEMM Awards That February Which Is Where They Won The Award For 2003 Song Of The Year For "Mess It Up" . Quarashi Also Performed During A Long Weekend In Iceland Called "The Verslunarmanna Helgi" Where They Played Gigs At Sauðárkrókur A Small Town In Northern Iceland And Akureyri. Quarashi Was The Opening Act For Both 50 Cent And The Prodigy When Those Two Popular Musical Acts Traveled To Iceland. On 24 February 2004 The Rumours About Quarashi's Future At Columbia Records/Time Bomb Recordings Came True As It Was Announced That Columbia Records Had Dropped Quarashi From The Label Due To The Disappointing Sales Of Jinx. Quarashi Was Also Released From Their EMI Publishing Contract. Quarashi Announced That They Would Search For A New Record Label That Would Release Their Albums All Over The World. In April 2004 Quarashi Began Recording Their Next Album Their First One With Tiny And Their Sixth And What Would Turn Out To Be Their Final Record Overall Which Was Under The Working Title Of "Payback". In June Quarashi Released The First Single Off Their New Album On Their Blog "Stun Gun". The Song Showed The New Direction Quarashi Was Heading Into As It Featured A Harder More Hip-Hop Oriented Sound Showing That The Q Boys Were Moving Away From The More Techno And Funk Oriented Beats Of Songs Past. "Stun Gun" Also Showed The Difference Between Tiny And Hössi When It Came To Lyrics As Tiny's Harsh Mean-Spirited Rhymes Were A Lot Different Than Hössi's Silly And Nonsensical Rhymes That Were Filled With Pop Culture References. The Change In Direction Was Met With Mixed Reviews. Some Fans Feared That The More Hip-Hop Oriented Sound Would Make Quarashi Sound Like American Mainstream Rappers And Therefore Take Away Their Appeal. Other Fans Loved The Change Feeling That After Doing Four Albums In Seven Years Which Had Similar Sounds A Similar Style And Similar Lyrics That It Was Time For Quarashi To Head In A New Direction. Whether Or Not Fans Liked The Changes One Thing They All Agreed On Was That Steini Should Have Appeared On The Album. Steini Had Chosen Not To Participate On The New Quarashi Record In Order To Concentrate On His Solo Career. Stoney Told The Fans That Even Though He Didn't Participate On The Album And Was Working On A Solo Album He Was Still A Member Of Quarashi. Edit Guerilla Disco 2004–2005 On 14 October 2004 Quarashi Released Their Fifth And Final Full-Length Album And Sixth Record Overall Guerilla Disco. It Was Released Only In Iceland Under The Skífan And Dennis Records Labels. The Album Was Met With Mostly Positive Reviews As Fans Embraced The New Sound And Style. Tiny Rapped The Most On Guerilla Disco With Playing Hype Man On Some Songs And Trading Verses With Tiny On Others. Some Of The Songs On Guerilla Disco Were About Experiences From Tiny's Own Life Such As "Stars". Tiny's Stories Which Were Told Through His Rapping Impressed Quarashi Fans Greatly And While Some Fans Still Weren't Ready To Fully Accept Tiny Just Yet They Could Admit That He Was A Talented Rapper. Guerilla Disco Was Another Hit Album For Quarashi In Iceland. 6 000 Copies Of Guerilla Disco Were Made And All 6 000 Copies Were Sold In 10 Days After Its Release. The Success Of Guerilla Disco Proved To Quarashi That The Fans Were Okay With The More Hip-Hop Oriented Sound Gangsta Rap Vibe And More Meaningful Lyrics With A Little Bit Of A Quarashi "edge" Added In. It Also Proved To Them That Quarashi Fans Were Okay With Tiny Being In The Group. Other Tracks On The First Album With Tiny Onboard Included "Pro" "Brass Knuckles" And "Dead Man Walking". Also In October 2004 Quarashi Teamed Up With The Stars Of The Popular Popptíví The MTV Of Iceland TV Show 70 Minutes To Make A Song And Music Video Called "Crazy Bastard". The Video Was A Parody Of Several Pop Rap And Rock Acts Like Britney Spears And Featured The Stars Of 70 Minutes Rapping With Omar And Tiny Playing Hype Men. The Song And Video Became A Fan Favorite And When More Copies Of Guerilla Disco Were Made "Crazy Bastard" Was Added As A Bonus Track On The CD. In January 2005 It Was Announced On The Official Quarashi Website That Quarashi Had Signed A Deal With Sony Japan To Release Guerilla Disco In "The Land Of The Rising Sun". On 3 March 2005 Quarashi Released Guerilla Disco In Japan. The Album Became A Huge Hit On The Strength Of The Single "Payback" As Quarashi's Giant Fanbase In Japan Came Out In Droves To Purchase The Album. The Album Slightly Changed A Bit For The Japanese Release The Track Listing Is Different And There Are Also 2 Remixes And 2 New Tracks One Of Which Is "Race City" Peaked At Number 2 On The Japan International Top 40 Chart Selling 30 000 Copies In Its First Month Of Release. Quarashi Took Another Hiatus In May Leaving Fans To Wonder When Their Next Album Would Be Released. Edit The End Of Quarashi 2005 On 5 August 2005 Sölvi Blöndal Did An Interview In The Fréttablaðið Where He Announced That Quarashi Had Broken Up Saying That Being A Member Of Quarashi Wasn't Fun Anymore. Omar Swarez Later Confirmed This To Be True On The Official Quarashi Messageboard Saying That He Had Originally Intended To Quit The Group But Instead The Q Boys Decided It Was Time To Stop Making Music Together. After Nine Years And Six Records Quarashi Was No More. Quarashi's Final Concert Was On 15 April 2005 In Akureyri Iceland. In A July 2009 Interview With The Quarashi Fan Blog QuarashiMusic Tiny Revealed That Steini A.K.A. Stoney Had Already Quit The Group Before Omar Made His Intentions To Leave Known. The Interview Further Elaborated On The Breakup With Tiny Saying That By The Time He Joined Quarashi In 2003 The Rest Of The Group Had Begun To Lose Interest In Making Music Together And That That Lack Of Interest Only Grew Over The Course Of Making Guerilla Disco And Performing Live To Promote It. By The Time Promotion For Guerilla Disco Had Ended The Q Boys Had No Desire To Carry On As A Group Any Longer. For A Short Time Rumours Circulated That Sölvi Blöndal Had Signed A Deal With Sony To Release Guerilla Disco In The U.S.A. In September 2005. This Was Confirmed As False By Omar Swarez On The Official Quarashi Messageboard. Edit Quarashi Today The Four Members Of Quarashi Have Moved On To Do Their Own Projects. Steini A.K.A. Stoney Now Spends His Time Raising His Son And Is Still Working On His Solo Album Performing Instrumental Music What He Calls "chill Electro" Under The Name KidrAmA. Steini Released A Four Track EP Under The Name Ca.1 In 2005. As Of 2010 There Is No Release Date Set For A Full-Length Album. Ómar Swarez Enrolled Into The Iceland Academy Of The Arts Majoring In Graphic Design In 2005. Ómar Writes And Does Illustrations For The Icelandic Comic Book Queef. He's Also The Author Of The Book Óli Píka And Also Designs Posters For Icelandic Films. From 2005- 2006 Swarez Starred In A Series Of Commercials For Smirnoff Ice Which Featured The Song "Copycat" With The Commercials Being Shown In Australia Canada The United Kingdom And The United States. According To His MySpace Profile Swarez Is Now In The Process Of Writing Two Screenplays. Swarez Currently Shows No Interest In Returning To The Music Industry. Sölvi Blöndal Enrolled Back Into The University Of Iceland In 2005 Majoring In Economics. In 2007 Sölvi Worked As An Equity Analyst At Kaupþing's Investment Banking Division In Reykjavík. 1 Blöndal Currently Resides In Stockholm Sweden Where He Is Still Producing Music. Tiny Is Currently In College. After Briefly Pursuing A Solo Career In Iceland Tiny Now Raps As A Member Of The Group Musik Zoo. Hössi Ólafsson Is Still Involved In The Icelandic Entertainment Industry. He Appeared In An Icelandic Comedy Film In 2004 And Has Also Written Several Articles For Icelandic Newspapers. In 2006 Ólafsson Joined The Icelandic Alternative Pop Band Ske As Their Lead Singer. In 2008 A Fansite Advertised For A New Quarashi CD Demos & B-Sides. The New CD Is Fan-Created But Will Have Rare Unreleased Live As Well As Demos And B-Side Tracks. The CD Was Released January 27 2009. Band Members The Final Quarashi Line-Up Was As Follows Egill Olafur Þorarensen A.K.A. Tiny Born 17 January 1984
Ómar Örn Hauksson A.K.A. Ómar Swarez Born 28 January 1975
Steinar Orri Fjeldsted A.K.A. Steini A.K.A. Stoney Born 7 July 1976
Sölvi Blöndal Born 3 January 1975 This Was The Group's Lineup From 2003 Until Their Breakup In 2005. Hössi Ólafsson Founded The Group With Sölvi And Steini In 1996 And Served As The Lead Vocalist And Frontman But Left In 2002. Egill Olafur Þorarensen Replaced Ólafsson As A Member Of The Group In 2003. Frequent Contributors To The Band Included DJ Magic DJ Bjössi Ingimundarson A.K.A. DJ Dice DJ Gaukur Úlfarsson Bassist Smári "Tarfur" Which Means Bull Jósepsson Guitarist Hrannar Ingimarsson Engineer/Mixer/Guitarist/Keyboardist Magga Stína Blöndal Singer Vidar Hákon Gislason Bassist/Guitarist Richard Oddur Hauksson DJ Discography Albums
Quarashi - 1997 - Lax Records/Pop Músík
Xeneizes - 1999 - Japis
Kristnihald Undir Jökli - 2001 - Sproti
Jinx - 2002 - Columbia Records/Time Bomb Recordings
Guerilla Disco - 2004-2005 - Skífan/Dennis Records - Sony Japan
Demos & B-Sides - 2009 - QuarashiMusic EPs
Switchstance - 1996 - Lax Records read less