In today’s tense political environment, the word ‘terrorism’ can really only be described as having some very negative connotations; New York, Twin Towers, 9/11… the list goes on. But if anyone could bring out the positive side of the word it would have to be the boisterous Mancunian quartet, and self-proclaimed ‘genre terrorists’, Sonic Boom Six.
It’s been a year and a half since the group became what singer Laila describes as ‘a proper band’, despite having got together way back in 2002. Since the release of their album in August last year, Sonic Boom Six have been working hard; having been on the road since February, they’ve got gigs right up until the end of May.
Their growing popularity certainly has something to do with their ability to blend a wide range of genres, crossing over from the usual mix of ska and punk, to the not so expectable pop, rap, rock, reggae and drum ‘n’ bass influences - hence the term “genre terrorism”. ‘It was just a snappy way of describing it,’ explains singer and bass player, Barney, ‘it evokes images of action; it’s explosive image that reflects the live show.’ Similarly, the group enjoy the fact that mixing genres allows them to reach out to a lot more fans. ‘In London and Manchester, I’ve noticed a lot more Asian people have been coming and a lot more people that wouldn’t necessarily go to a gig like ours have heard about us,’ singer Laila tells me excitedly, to which Barney nods decisively, ‘there’s a lot of potential for that to happen. It’s nice to be thought of as part of the punk community, but promoters can put on a hip-hop band, or a reggae band with us in a way that they might not do for another punk band.’
Listening to the band describe their touring experiences it’s clear that they’re very astute in pinpointing the changes within today’s music scene. ‘If you go into a trendy rock club in a town centre and the mix is just completely different to what it was five years ago,’ Barney asserts emphatically, ‘they play hardcore and then a bit of ska, but then they play The Gossip, Girls Aloud, then they’ll mix that into some drum ‘ n’ bass, then into some electro-clash thing, Bloc Party, even Arctic Monkeys. Things are a lot more open, much less divided. There’s loads more cross-over now.’
So being aware of these changes, do Sonic Boom Six feel the need to consciously make music that will fit into such a diverse musical climate, or is it simply something that comes naturally? ‘It’s a bit of both,’ Barney concedes, ‘it was a conscious decision to blend the existing influences that we have as a group of people, but… It’s not something that crosses our minds per se, but it’s cool to keep an eye on it. We’re not for one minute under the impression that we’re hot on the heels of Bring Me The Horizon, or Enter Shikari, or anything like that, but we know the kids like our music and we believe that it’s a true representation of what we like and what we’re good at. We’re never gonna be on the front of Kerrang! Or flavour of the moment, but we might get to the point where enough kids are into us that it does start to have an influence and start to be a bigger band in people’s minds and perceptions. From the day we started we’ve set ourselves certain goals and we’ve just kept moving on. Sometimes it’s taken longer to get there than we thought it would, but every goal has eventually been achieved.’
Perhaps most refreshingly, Sonic Boom Six are a band who set out with a positive outlook on life, as Barney sums up perfectly, ‘the idea of the band is to push people towards being more accepting and to think outside of the box. We’re optimists in a way – we like to think that people can get on with each other.’
For more information on Sonic Boom Six check out their MySpace page, www.myspace.com/sonicboomsix