julianadown
Male, United Arab Emirates
www.myspace.com/officialju…Last seen: April 2009
No plays since 15 Apr 2007
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About Me
The day we saw Def Leppard unite people through song, we decided we wanted to do the same. That’s where the link ends but we’re still trying.
It was Abu Dhabi, almost a decade ago, and we were at our first ever gig. Not being able to afford tickets, we sat on a roof nearby and saw the crowd of thousands, singing to hits like Pour Some Sugar On Me, and waving their lighters to When Love And Hate Collide. Leppard brought them together, and emulat¬ing them became our dream.
Dia had bumped into the lead singer and guitarist in a lift only an hour earlier. He didn’t think much of their tattoos and long hair, but later, as he watched them play, he couldn’t shake the idea that these were nor¬mal people and not imaginary characters.
Fast forward to the present. In the years since we formed as an Abu Dhbai-based four-piece in 2002, we’ve done quite well, but reached nowhere near the heights of Lep¬pard. Dia’s on vocals, Bayan plays the guitar, Sari has the bass while Abdul B. Mohammed bashes the drums. We are inspired by Cold¬play, U2, Radiohead and Bloc Party and have been lucky enough to open for big-name, international acts such as Justin Timberlake, Muse and The Darkness.
Our big break came in 2004 when we played the inaugural Dubai Desert Rock Fes¬tival. The organisers, Centre Stage Manage¬ment, were impressed by our pas¬sionate performance and saw in us a potential that few others did at the time – and have since allowed us to play twice more.
We released our debut album, Cause and Affect, in 2006 and spent the following year touring and supporting it in the UK, Dubai and Bahrain to positive responses. Most re¬cently, we shared a stage with the great Paul Weller at the Dubai Desert Rhythm festival.
Bizarrely, we have been identified by Time Out Dubai as one of their Fantastic 40, putting Dubai on the world map among titans like Donald Trump and Pablo Picasso! This rec¬ognition was a huge honor although we were left somewhat dumbfounded. As his peers, we are still waiting a call from Mr Trump.
MTV Arabia have also been very support¬ive, featuring us in their Moto-Alert series and giving us the opportunity to co-host a one-hour Introducing special that highlighted rock music. Our last single, Good For Nothing, was A-listed by Dubai 92 and Channel 4, and was on heavy rotation for several weeks. In 2008 we took a break from the live scene to write our second album, which will be re¬leased in mid 2009.
Like everyone, we have grown with time. Since the release of our debut, we have lost members, gained members, lost or are losing loved ones to battles with cancer, got married, gone through nervous breakdowns, been deported, broken up and eventually come back, hope¬fully stronger.
We try to write personal lyrics that deal with themes of alienation, rejection, des¬peration and finding a place in the universe. These are themes we’ve dealt with in our own lives. We try to follow legendary bands like The Smiths, Travis and The Stone Roses by marrying our lyrics to driving beats, pound¬ing pass and soaring guitars, and the amal¬gamation of dark lyrics and uplifting music is intended to help us all cope with the real-life pain we all face in a positive way.
Our Facebook fan group and artist pages are growing, as is our MySpace profile. We like to stay in touch with fans through peri¬odic mailings and the energetic shows we put on, providing accessible and emotive music that connects with our fans, and hopefully brings them together.
It was Abu Dhabi, almost a decade ago, and we were at our first ever gig. Not being able to afford tickets, we sat on a roof nearby and saw the crowd of thousands, singing to hits like Pour Some Sugar On Me, and waving their lighters to When Love And Hate Collide. Leppard brought them together, and emulat¬ing them became our dream.
Dia had bumped into the lead singer and guitarist in a lift only an hour earlier. He didn’t think much of their tattoos and long hair, but later, as he watched them play, he couldn’t shake the idea that these were nor¬mal people and not imaginary characters.
Fast forward to the present. In the years since we formed as an Abu Dhbai-based four-piece in 2002, we’ve done quite well, but reached nowhere near the heights of Lep¬pard. Dia’s on vocals, Bayan plays the guitar, Sari has the bass while Abdul B. Mohammed bashes the drums. We are inspired by Cold¬play, U2, Radiohead and Bloc Party and have been lucky enough to open for big-name, international acts such as Justin Timberlake, Muse and The Darkness.
Our big break came in 2004 when we played the inaugural Dubai Desert Rock Fes¬tival. The organisers, Centre Stage Manage¬ment, were impressed by our pas¬sionate performance and saw in us a potential that few others did at the time – and have since allowed us to play twice more.
We released our debut album, Cause and Affect, in 2006 and spent the following year touring and supporting it in the UK, Dubai and Bahrain to positive responses. Most re¬cently, we shared a stage with the great Paul Weller at the Dubai Desert Rhythm festival.
Bizarrely, we have been identified by Time Out Dubai as one of their Fantastic 40, putting Dubai on the world map among titans like Donald Trump and Pablo Picasso! This rec¬ognition was a huge honor although we were left somewhat dumbfounded. As his peers, we are still waiting a call from Mr Trump.
MTV Arabia have also been very support¬ive, featuring us in their Moto-Alert series and giving us the opportunity to co-host a one-hour Introducing special that highlighted rock music. Our last single, Good For Nothing, was A-listed by Dubai 92 and Channel 4, and was on heavy rotation for several weeks. In 2008 we took a break from the live scene to write our second album, which will be re¬leased in mid 2009.
Like everyone, we have grown with time. Since the release of our debut, we have lost members, gained members, lost or are losing loved ones to battles with cancer, got married, gone through nervous breakdowns, been deported, broken up and eventually come back, hope¬fully stronger.
We try to write personal lyrics that deal with themes of alienation, rejection, des¬peration and finding a place in the universe. These are themes we’ve dealt with in our own lives. We try to follow legendary bands like The Smiths, Travis and The Stone Roses by marrying our lyrics to driving beats, pound¬ing pass and soaring guitars, and the amal¬gamation of dark lyrics and uplifting music is intended to help us all cope with the real-life pain we all face in a positive way.
Our Facebook fan group and artist pages are growing, as is our MySpace profile. We like to stay in touch with fans through peri¬odic mailings and the energetic shows we put on, providing accessible and emotive music that connects with our fans, and hopefully brings them together.
Recent Activity
-
Moonnyway and julianadown are now friends. October 2009
-
ynyswydryn and julianadown are now friends. April 2009
-
gabibarboza and julianadown are now friends. April 2009
- julianadown updated his profile. January 2009
- julianadown updated his profile. January 2009
