'Music for the soul'

the Dubai-based band was born when vocalist Hamdan Al Abri met keyboardist Julian Symes in 2005. Within two months, the duo had written enough tracks to comprise a full album.

While the two gifted musicians deliver a stirring performance on their own, ABRI's sound is fleshed out with the addition of brothers Justin and Andre Atherley.

With Justin's jazzy bass riffs and Andre's solid drumbeat accompanying Julian and Hamdan's soulful melody, ABRI was ready to record. The final product is the band's debut album, Sunchild. Showcasing 10 of the band's best tracks, the album is designed to take listeners on a musical and lyrical journey, exploring real world issues that face us all.

A reflection of Dubai, drummer Andre Atherley told City Times the band meshed reggae, jazz, brazilian and indie as their respective influences and backgrounds clashed into a wonderful fusion.

Andre described the style simply as “music for the soul”.

But he warned the audience to be ready for a high-energy show with lots of audience interaction.

“We’re very excited and we’re going to put on a good show. There’s going to be lots of songs to dance to and plenty of crowd participation singing back lines."

Currently signed to Music Master along side Dubai label Flicker Show. The band’s first single, ‘Philosophies’, was out in June, while their album, Sunchild will be released on November 1 and their single Piece of Me is playing on local radios now.