The UK had an exciting ska-punk revival in the late 90s/early 2000s that included bands like Capdown, Lightyear, King Prawn, and Spunge. One of the bands from this era, Grimace, broke up and reformed as Sonic Boom Six. They were so eclectic that their pool of influences included grime, hip-hop, dubstep and even just a dash of bhangra. But at their core, they played ska-punk. The group came into their own in the mid-2000s with their debut full-length, The Ruff Guide to Genre-Terrorism. And they had a brush with mainstream culture in 2012 with their song “Virus.”
This week, we bring on singer Laila K. and bassist/vocalist Barney Boom to talk about the group’s long and interesting career. But we also discuss how The Specials influenced non-ska bands like Blur, The Streets and The Prodigy, and talk about what it means for Sonic Boom Six to be punk rock and to create passionate political statements in their songs, and not give people love songs.
We also talk about Moon Ska Europe, which outlasted Moon Ska US (And even released records by some non-ska bands). The band tells us what it was like to work with Coolie Ranx, we get their take on the mozzarella stick/Andy Samberg ska meme culture that reduces the genre to an embarrassing joke. And we dig into what made this UK ska-punk scene unique and exciting.