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ADP's Get Your Aunty On is rock solid!
Instep lends an ear to the upcoming rock band ADP's bootleg sessions...

By Maheen Sabeeh
Artist: ADP
Album: Get Your Aunty On*****

 

Aunty Disco Project aka ADP are the best thing to have happened to Karachi's live concert circuit since Mauj. The band that currently comprises of Omar Bilal Akhtar aka OBA (guitars, vocals), Yasir Qureshi (darbuka), "Ganda Banda" Ali Alam (guitars, vocals) and Rahail Siddiqui (ex-Mizraab on bass) can jam with the best of them. They may have a cult following but ADP are expanding and carving out their name slowly and surely.

When ADP started out, they also featured Imran Lodhi on bass and vocals and Omar Khalid (on drums) who recently departed from the band (amicably).

ADP sprouted on the scene in 2006 and soon became popular, because of their livewire, electric performances.

ADP performed at Basement Cafe, PACC and every place they could perform live. And then came their debut album, The Aunty Disco Project. The record didn't release commercially but it's out on the web.

From this record, ADP made a name for themselves with songs like 'Sultanat', 'Iss Tanhai Ko' and 'Nazar'.

And ADP know how to roll with the punches. Whether its twitter, blogs, Facebook - the band uses Internet to its advantage in a way only Noori did in their early days of DIY (do it yourself).

Fans can finally rejoice. Those who still haven't seen ADP perform (they have performed outside Karachi) can catch the guys in their element on the recently uploaded bootleg sessions of the band.

The record, aptly titled, Get Your Aunty On (a product of summer gigs by the band this year) features covers, originals and is a glimpse into the sound of ADP.  These bootleg sessions may not have the finesse of a live album like Daur-e-Junoon (2002) but they have a raw vibe, which works.

Plus the addition of Ali Alam as a full-time member is another fabulous news. The man can sing and adds another dimension to this act.

With tunes like The Clash's 'Rock the Casbah' among other originals, Get Your Aunty On is a grungy, meaty rock record. It may not have a crisp production quality (that'll happen for ADP soon) but it's a sharp effort considering the fact that ADP are not as mainstream as, other rock acts such as err, Roxen? Noori or Ali Azmat.

Anyway the songs are good.

Take for instance, 'Janay Walay'. With Yasir pounding his darbuka away, Omar Khalid and OBA doing their thing on drums and guitars respectively - the grungy rock feel is hard to miss. 'Janay Wala' is not juvenile as is the case with a lot of newer rock acts.

Ali Alam and Omar Bilal Akhtar's camaraderie on stage is caught on this song as they give each other space to shine as individuals and together as young, dynamic front men.
Including Ganda Banda's cult favourite, 'Raat Jagi' in the play list was a stroke of genius. It's one rock 'n' roll anthem that never gets older or boring. And this live version is more interesting because it's always hard to predict how ADP will go. OBA and Ali Alam leave their guitars wild with edgy riffs because this is one song that just goes into improvisational mode instantly.

The groovy element, funky riffs, floating percussion comes in with 'Likhta Nahin Mein'. The song's got this introspective lyrical wordplay with just the slight tinge of impatience as OBA sings, "Karta Nahin Mein Intezaar" - this song sounds more fun live. ADP's striking 'Nazar' - their famous ballad that brought them back to the spotlight in 2008 - is another winner. This song is a fantastic, moody love song with instruments at minimal best and Omar Bilal Akhtar really giving his best to the slow and haunting melody.

ADP close the record with the electric 'Mujhay Sahara Do' and this song with its 'woh hoooos' is just another reminder of how good this band is live. Yasir Qureshi goes ballistic on his drums and the riffs almost get a punkish vibe towards the ends. It's brilliant stuff.
What ADP have smartly done is pick some of their best tunes together and have played them live and recorded it all and uploaded it (for free). The album is short and because it's 'live', it's got a life of its own with one tune after another, from grunge to groove, rock to soul - it's all in here.

Now ADP are recording their second record with Emad Ur Rehman (credits include Ali Azmat's Social Circus and session playing for years) as producer - the first commercial effort - and if this live album is anything to go by, ADP cannot be and should not be ignored.  This is one band to watch out for in 2010.

– Download Get Your Aunty On from getyourauntyon.com

*****Get it NOW!
****Just get it
***Maybe maybe not
**Just download the
best song
*Forget that this was made