U.K. based band Sonic Boom Six just released their sixth album which transcends multiple genres and sounds. Although the album isn't available in the U.S. yet, they still have plenty of songs for us to enjoy - such as women-empowering anthem "No Man, No Right." I sat down with lead singer Laila K at Warped Tour Atlanta to discuss her fondest touring memories, her creativity, and her powerful messages.
How did you get the opportunity to perform at Warped Tour?
Laila K: We were approached by Kevin [Lyman, producer of Warped Tour] because his daughter is a fan. He's a super, super nice guy. Every day, he's like, "How are you?" "What can I get you?" Having him on our side is brilliant.
What are you currently working on?
LK: Our new album, Cardiac Address, came out in June in the UK. It has eight punk rock, hardcore bangers. We kind of went back to our roots, and the lyrics address what’s going on in the world today - like how sort of messed up it is, and our take on what is going on. Two main things we discuss are Brexit and Trump, and other global things we talk about are racism, homophobia, transphobia, and sexism.
When you all write songs, what is your creative process like?
LK: We all come up with ideas individually and then we bring them together and see where we go from there. Sometimes, it's just a lyric or a hook or a melody - or sometimes it's a whole song. It just changes a lot, depending on where we're at. There's never a lyric that goes in that doesn't make sense...it's all very heartfelt.
I love that! With other music, if your heart's not in it, you can tell. Bands like you guys aren't manufactured.
LK: Yeah, we're essentially a political band because we talk about what goes on in the world today, rather than being in love or other things that people are much better than us at writing about. We don't necessarily stand up [on stage] shouting it - we've got sort of happy, party music. But we definitely have a message that people can take away.
Throughout your years of touring, what place has been the most memorable to you?
LK: Japan was pretty cool. It's like a different world over there. You feel like you're in a film. And even Warped Tour...we've never seen this much of the U.S. before. We don't really get to see much, but we've never gotten to meet so many people from around the U.S. before.
What's a memorable show from Warped Tour so far?
LK: Denver was really, really good. Watching the crowd grow is fantastic. Usually we have about 50 people, no one knows who we are. But in Denver we had nearly 200 kids! We're from the Manchester working class, we don't come from anything. Being able to travel to a destination to play our music is...we're humble. So grateful.
That's great that you've had this opportunity to share your music! A lot of people in the U.S. need to hear your message.
LK: Yeah! People who've seen us on tour have been very surprised, because we don't really fit in. We're quite a weird band - we mix a lot of things. We're not heavy enough for heavy people, we're too heavy for some people. But we just do our thing. We're a very "marmite" band - you either love us or you hate us. We don't want to be someone's second favorite band. We don't want to be a band that people like, we want to be a band that people love.
