Xeneizes

Xeneizes is an album by the Icelandic hip-hop group Quarashi, released on October 25, 1999 in Iceland (see 1999 in music). Like Quarashi's self titled debut album, Xeneizes was a hit in Quarashi's homeland, topping the Icelandic album charts. 6,000 copies of Xeneizes were made, and once again, all 6,000 copies were sold, making Xeneizes the second Quarashi album to go gold in Iceland.

Xeneizes is also notable for being the album that caught the attention of American record labels. After turning down all offers from several United Kingdom record labels, Quarashi was contacted by EMI Music Resources 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. Less than a year later, on August 31, 2000, Quarashi announced that they had signed a six-album deal with Columbia Records, and were now finally going to be able to release their music all over the world.

Xeneizes is named after the nickname given to fans of the Argentine football (soccer) team, Boca Juniors. The album has several South American influenced beats, joining the hip-hop, rock, funk, and techno beats from the previous album. This is said to come from Sölvi Blöndal's trip to South America in 1998, where he became obsessed with the culture, particularly the passion South Americans have for soccer. The trip to South America heavily influenced Blöndal during the making of Xeneizes.