Nicky Bomba's BUSTAMENTO
Sunbury, Victoria, Australia | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | INDIE
Music
Press
Industrious multi-instrumentalist Nicky Bomba has brought much joy to music fans during an energetic and eclectic career. His band Bomba has generated ecstatic responses from audiences around the country who are moved by the band’s feel-good rhythms and undeniable zest for life. Nicky’s funky powerhouse percussive impact has been a grand addition to the John Butler Trio and his work with the esteemed Joe Camilleri on the well-received Limestone album displayed both musicians at their inspired best.
His latest project Bustamento embraces the sunny vibe of calypso, mento, ska and reggae. The overall feel of this buoyant album will transport you to some relaxing and far-flung tropical paradise where the stresses of our hurried-up world dissipate as you sip the magical coconut juice and gaze out to the sparkling ocean. The reworked Automatically Man, a song that appeared on Bomba’s debut album in 2000, swings with such happiness it’s impossible to avoid smiling while the Harry Belafonte/Irving Burgess number Coconut Woman (originally recorded by Belafonte way back in the late '50s) has an authentic old-school feel and some wonderful instrumentation. Intrepid Adventures To The Lost Riddim Islands, bursting with balmy and uplifting rhythms, is sure to brighten even the darkest of days and to lighten the most sullen of moods.
BY GRAHAM BLACKLEY
Best Track: Ghamillu Karta
If You Like These, You'll like This: Limestone JOE CAMILLERI & NICKY BOMBA
In A Word: Joyful
- See more at: http://www.beat.com.au/music/nicky-bomba-s-bustamento-intrepid-adventures-lost-riddim-islands#sthash.6luX2h3r.dpuf - Beat Magazine
RIP IT UP, Adelaide - Live Review
“Nicky Bomba would have to be one of the most amazing and entertaining
performers I've had the fortune of witnessing. Whether you like his music or not, he puts on a brilliant show, works the crowd unlike any other, and will make sure that you leave with a big fat smile on your face.
Definitely the best show I've seen so far this year!”
Luke Balzan - Rip It Up Magazine
Mon 25th Jun, 2012 in Gig Reviews
Nicky Bomba has thankfully returned to Adelaide and brought a glimpse of summer through a taste of the Carribean. The Gov was filled with punters keen to escape the freezing cold and dance the night away.
Adelaide 7-piece Babylon Burning kicked off the night with some smooth reggae grooves. Formed in 2010, the young band has clocked up an impressive number of gigs, which shows through their onstage confidence. Aptly led by David Spencer on guitar and vocals, the crowd, mostly seated in the cabaret setup, began to fill the dance floor. Their music is impressive because of the fluid layering of sounds, allowing every instrument to work together. The only area where their performance can improve is through engaging with the audience. Jack Thomson on percussion tried to encourage some audience participation, however it was not effective.
Melbourne’s king of ska Nicky Bomba was warmly welcomed to the stage with his latest musical endeavour, 6-piece Carribean-inspired group Bustamento. After multiple successful sets with The Melbourne Ska Orchestra at WOMADelaide earlier in 2012, Bomba managed to secure a mostly full house of fans for their first tour in this line-up. Bustamento is the result of a musical epiphany Bomba received in 2003 after attending his first musical expo in Germany. When watching one performance, his Maltese heritage resounded with a Carribean inspired Mento group led by Stanley Beckford. He enhanced his understanding of the sound through a pilgrimage to Jamaica, and after returning to Australia, Bomba began to assemble a solid group of musicians from his funk/reggae outfit Bomba.
The musical journey led the group on the ‘Intrepid Adventure to the Lost Riddim Islands’ national album tour. Nicky Bomba welcomed the crowd by singing “we’ll bring the sunshine tonight” as the group, all adorned in fedoras, looked ready for a day out at the beach. The 90 minute set launched into calypso tunes which filled the dance floor instantly. The set featured songs of their first album including first single Mañana, as well as improvised lyrics fitting the mento style. Bomba proved once again that he is a professional front-man, who is able to engage and easily encourage audience participation. An onstage hot-seat fit with beach umbrella, hat and lei, allowed three lucky punters the chance to be part of the band, while they danced and were given some shakers.
The highlight of the set was when Bomba led his band off the stage and through the audience in a conga line. They huddled in the centre of the audience while Bomba led the audience in a series of percussion and some drunk/slurring call and response. The band then weaved through the audience to produce a special moment as they performed an impromptu percussion jam behind the Gov’s bar, banging on spirit bottles, beer taps, benches and roof. Every person was on their feet cheering and dancing. A lucky senior punter named Pat was given the privilege of performing along Bustamento during this number. The night ended with Bomba inviting members of support act Babylon Burning to join them on a cover of a song by The Ethiopians.
Rebecca Wigg - Faster Louder
dB, Adelaide – Album Review ?Album Of The Week'
“The band have absolutely nailed the genre.” Luke Carlino - dB Magazine
RIP IT UP, National – Album Review ?Album Of The Week'
“Nicky Bomba is a true music genius” Luke Balzan - Rip It Up Magazine
THE AUSTRALIAN – Album review
“With his latest vessel, the good ship Bustamento, Nicky Bomba becomes the musical equivalent of Indiana Jones as he sails back in time to explore the lost world of Caribbean rhythms.”
Tony Hiller - The Australian
“Bomba has delved deep into the mystical, sunny sounds of 1950s Jamaican folk (mento), combining it with his own Maltese musical heritage, not to mention his love of reggae and ska, to come up with this tropical gem.”
Samuel J. Fell - Sydney Morning Herald
(Of the Snowy Mountains of Music Festival)
“Highlight of the weekend was the debut performance of Nicky Bomba's latest combo Bustamento, which ignited the dance floor”
Iain Shedden - The Australian
BEAT, Melbourne - Live Review
“Bomba made every effort to involve the crowd…. And before long he had them eating from the skin of his bongos.
It was a giant love-in, and everyone was invited.” Jen Wilson - BEAT, Melbourne
WITH his latest vessel, the good ship Bustamento, Nicky Bomba becomes the musical equivalent of Indiana Jones as he sails back in time to explore the lost world of Caribbean rhythms.
Given his affection for reggae, it is no surprise to see the Melbourne multi-instrumentalist and musical director, plus a merry crew, pay homage to the precursors of that genre. Buried treasures they unearth with a combination of revisionist zeal and party pep including Harry Belafonte's cheeky calypso Coconut Woman, Peggy Lee's Latin romp Manana and Horace Silver's jazzy jungle classic Swinging Momento.
(The Australian Newspaper, June 16, 2012: Tony Hillier) - The Australian Newspaper
Discography
>> ALBUMS
"Intrepid Adventures to the Lost Riddim Islands" (2012)^
* ABC Radio Australia 'Album of the Week' (May 2012)
* Sydney Morning Herald Metro 'Album Of The Week' (Fri, 6 July 2012)
>> SINGLES
"Deep Sleeper Man" (2013) from the album "Intrepid Adventures to the Lost Riddim Islands"
"Maana" (2012) from the album "Intrepid Adventures to the Lost Riddim Islands"
^ ARIA nominated 2012 'Best World Music Album'
Photos
Bio
Nicky Bomba is one of Australia's busiest and most highly respected musicians. He has built a solid reputation in the music industry via many projects including writing and performing with his band Bomba, conducting the Melbourne Ska Orchestra, playing drums on John Butler's award- winning "Sunrise over Sea" and "April Uprising" to being the Artistic Producer for the Multicultural Arts Victoria 'Visible' project. He has a discography of over a dozen albums and has been a composer/performer on many more.
Nicky Bomba has jumped on his musical boat again to deliver a party filled island adventure with his new band BUSTAMENTO. A tropical shaking six piece that pays homage to the upbeat rhythms of the Caribbean, covering the Calypso, Mento, Early Reggae and Ska styles.
And so the story goes... While attending his first musical expo in Essen, Germany in 2003, Nicky's GPS ears stumbled upon a sound that put a smile on his face. "I reached my destination and there before me was Stanley Beckford and his Mento group. The music had a happy familiarity. They were making words up on the spot and it immediately reminded me of my Maltese heritage where we would do the same thing. Island music eh?"
Nicky and Stanley talked together about the cheeky nature of the music style and how important it was to their musical legacy. Hooked on the sound it launched Nicky into the first part of his musical pilgrimage - Jamaica, tapping the source of the music he loved so much. Arriving alone with guitar in hand, Nicky found himself, within 24 hours, in a studio recording at the Twelve Tribes compound in Hope Rd, Kingston. Days later he was adopted into the Hendricks family from the hills of Christiana and immersed himself in the music and culture.
"Soon after arriving back home, I rang Barry and said I wanted to start a Mento group and he became a little giddy. We needed a name to kick it off and he mentioned Prince Buster, one of Jamaica's recording pioneers and I had just read that he was named after Alexander Bustamente, the island's first prime minister. It wasn't too long before one of us said Bustament..o?
Bustamento. Sounded good, and for added value, a bustament in the Maltese language means "a very big boat". We love boats. There it was."
At the time, funk reggae outfit, BOMBA, was touring nationally and it seemed a natural organic flow to form the band with the same brothers. After sourcing some sweet old tunes they worked up a repertoire that developed into something really special. It was the type of band that could work at a totally acoustic level and still sound fantastic. The harmonies, the grooves, the fun element, the spontaneity, it all came together beautifully. Intrepid Adventures to the Lost Riddim Islands, had begun. Nicky started writing songs that lent themselves perfectly to the genre and early this year (2012) the fruit was ripe for the picking.
"We really wanted to capture the essence of the music referencing all the good things we loved about the form. We realised that you have to play this music together in one room, soaking up all the harmonic overtones and energies that fly when a band that has been playing together a long time do their thing."
BUSTAMENTO called upon their good friend and award winning engineer Robin Mai and gave him the brief. He smiled and said "Old school eh? I mean real old school eh? Are you up for it?"
The band replied..."Hey buster... we'll kick it.. you just catch it!"
In what was a totally fun and inspiring experience, BUSTAMENTO recorded 23 songs in one weekend and realised they had something special... Jungle drums, sweet harmonies, banjos, ukuleles, double bass, piano, trumpets, saxophones, steel drums, mbiras, jazz guitars and a healthy dose of looseness was the order of the day. The band has an amazing chemistry and with brother Nicky And Michael side by side again, it was a winning combination.
"There's a thing that happens when you've been eating, living and playing music together for such a long time. We both love the happiness that music brings. We often stopped and said... 'Would Mum like this?" She's a bit of a party girl so we kept that in mind. Makin music with Barry, George and Paul has its own history via the Bomba and Overtones incarnations and that shines on this record. Peter, the relative newcomer, has added a wealth of talent and musicality that puts the icing on the cake. I'm really diggin these recordings and the fact that we tracked 23 songs in a week kinda says it all."
Some songs they developed a little further but the essence of the tunes had the spirit of the music that put the spring in their shoes. Coconut Woman, Freeman and the first single 'Maana' (pronounced Man-yana) pays tribute to some of the great classics. Livin the Dream, Let's Start Again and the classic mento form of Deep Sleeper Man Nicky wrote only recently when the vision became clearer.
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