Nicky Bomba looks and sounds every inch a reggae musician. His dreadlocks are, more often than not, half hidden by a rasta beanie. He is rarely photographed without a pair of sunglasses on the bridge of his nose and he throws out phrases such as “positive energy” as if discussing electricity consumption in Scandinavia.
Bomba’s journey down the Jamaican music trail is a roundabout one, incorporating a bit of Latin, soul, ska and funk along the way. His band, which also goes by the same name, is one of the most talked-about live acts in Australia.
This year they toured with UB4O and put in scene-stealing performances at Womad festivals in Reading and Adelaide. In their homeland they have injected new life into a world music scene that is invariably overshadowed by the antipodean love of no-frills rock.
“It’s been said that Melbourne audiences are the hardest in the world,” says Bomba of his home town. “So if you can win them over you can do it anywhere. In my experience that is true, especially now the band are touring and we are seeing how other countries react to our music.”
The band’s latest album, Learn to Breath, is the ultimate summer feel-good record, packed full of infectious drum beats, soaring brass arrangements and the kind of laid-back hypnotic vocals that make you want to give up the day job and book a one-way ticket to Kingston.
The band was formed in Melbourne in 1997. There have been changes over the years, but the current line-up features Bomba on drums and vocals, a trombone player, a saxophonist, two trumpet players, a couple of flugelhorn players and a bassist. Each member of the band plays at least two instruments and at full pelt they make quite a din.
The logistics of taking all seven band members over to Edinburgh has meant that the group will be slimmed down to a trio for their forthcoming appearances at the fringe. But Bomba has an alternative plan to swell the ranks.
“I think we’ll probably be getting in touch with a few local musicians and getting them on stage,” he says. “We could well end up with about 50 people.” Whether the Spiegeltent can accommodate a 50-fold Australian-Scottish funk-reggae band remains to be seen, but it’s this kind of spontaneous approach to making music that has won them so many admirers.
In Australia, Bomba has been known to wander off-stage and play the audience’s wine and beer glasses. “I try to make every night a special one for the audience,” he says. “I try to connect the audience and the band, so we are all on the same page. I don’t like things to be too formal and sometimes that means getting in among the audience and making friends.”
Bomba was born in Malta and raised in Australia. The product of a musical family, he started writing music and playing drums as a young boy. “We started a family dance band when I was a child,” he says. “We were like the Maltese Jackson Five. We played all the local wedding and engagement parties. Part of the Maltese way is trying to make things positive and light regardless of the situation.
“When I was growing up there was a party with music every weekend. I guess that just became part of my blood.” The 12-year-old Bomba had a No 1 hit in Malta with an unusual folk-pop song he recorded with a singing priest. In his teens he completed high school by correspondence and was soon working as a session musician for well-known Australian acts such as Daryl Braithwaite, Tim Finn, Killing Heidi and Tina Arena.
While Bomba supplements his pay cheque working as a session musician for multimillion-selling artists, reggae music and his band will always be his first love.
“I was travelling on the bus on the way back from Womad and there were various people who couldn’t speak English,” he says. “Communication was at a bare minimum until someone pulled out a ukulele and soon everyone was singing and playing along.
“I think I’ve chosen the type of music I play for that very reason. It’s a beautiful thing.”
www.bomba.com.au