BOOMARANG is an upcoming rock band from the north east state of Mizoram is making waves.

Selected from numerous entries on the Contrabands official website from all over the country, Boomarang hailing from the heart of the seven-sister states, was formed in 2005. When they started off Boomarang emulated bands such as Rage Against the Machine. Band members Atea (vocals), Boom aka Lalruatliana Hangsing (Guitars), Joshua (Bass) and RS aka Rosangliana make for a closely-knit ‘Junk’ rock band, something they like to call themselves as they are famous for their musical blend of jazz, funk and Punk.

Singer – Actor Luke Kenny’s Rise of the Zombie movie released early this year, also featured a song by Boomarang titled Home.

Their first single Stellar, the video of which has premiered on Vh1, their debut album Home will be released later this month supported with a multi city tour at Hard Rock Café outlets across the country. The 14-track album Home, in the works since 2009, was recorded in Aizwal by Mizoram-based producer and event organizer Victor Vanlalhruia.

Verus Ferreira spoke with the band to know more about their album and also what makes them the hottest band in the country.

Can you give us a little history of each member of the band and how you all came together?

The band was formed in 2005, Booma (guitarist) called up to check if we can jam with Rage against the Machine. Then we practiced for a show, we did 1-2 covers of the  band . This made us really feel good and created a lot of enthusiasm to enter competition. In 2006 we entered Hornbill Nation Rock contest in Kohima in Nagaland. We came 3rd in this competition. This is somewhat how the journey started for us. We also performed at the great India Rock festival in Delhi and since then we are on the journey. Winning the Independent rock competition was a major breakthrough in 2007, this really got the focus and attention from fans and people who matter.

 What is your new album all about and what is the sound like?

Boomerang is our first album and the sound of Boomarang is a little bit of everything. The style varies from song to song; Funk to Raggae, Blues to Metal and a little pinch of Jazz in some songs. We love all these genres and it made sense to use them in our music. Basically, good old ROCK, though initially we nicknamed our music, ‘JUNK!’: ‘a new Genre of music.

How many songs are on the album and what is the thought process of the lyrics?

We have 12 songs and 2 bonus tracks (the 1st bonus track is Rhythm of revolution in short ROAR, and 2nd on is Hush). We don’t have a particular thought process, we write what we feel at that moment, but the only thing we keep in mind is that the songs should sound good to the ears and have a meaning to it.

How did you get the deal with Universal Music?

We sent out the demo to Navin who is the manager for the band Scribe. We asked him to help us to promote our music. He introduced us to Subarna Roy from Universal Music, she liked our work, introduced us to her team and immediately the Universal family welcomed us to join them. We are grateful to all of them.

Are you planning a music video to support any tracks in the album?

Oh yes of course. We are already have music video for 2 of our tracks namely Stellar and Home which we have made ourselves at our own expenses. Looking forward, we are planning a couple of more video for our other tracks.

You have won many awards, which has been the biggest for you and why?

We would like to mention not one but 2 awards that have been instrumental in shaping our band. The first one is the Hornbill National Rock contest in 2006 at Kohima in Nagaland. We came third in this completion, but it gave us a major boost in our confidence that we can make it big. Then the IRock really proved instrumental in getting us the focus and attention from fans and putting us on the map.

You have played with acts like Korn, Lamb of God, Aurora Jane, Fire house, Tribal Tech, Enslaved, Intron out and Scott Kinsey Band. Which has been the most memorable and why?

KORN because they are the biggest band and we have been listening to them since long time. We did meet them as well which was like a dream coming true. We could have never imagined to meet a band of our dreams. Infact Munkey the guitarist from KORN complimented us saying “they are just awesome”.

Why the name Boomarang... similar to Boomerang,

When we were suppose to give our first performance, we never had a name to our band, that’s when one of our friends suggested Boomerang, but when we searched online there were many bands with same name. So to give our band a unique identity we changed the E to A giving us the name Boomarang.

What is the music scene back home in Mizoram?

It’s majorly dominated by Gospel music, but nowadays we are trying our best to better the rock scene there. We do organize events such as Scavenger Rock Idol, we have been involved with this event since the last 3 years. There is also a new concept called Tribal Beat which is community wise contest and these shows are aired on local channels which are popular in Mizoram…so yes we are putting our efforts to improve the music scene at Mizoram.

What are your future plans?

Being with Universal Music gives us the confidence to write more songs as we know we will get promoted by them. To promote our band in Mizoram is very tough. Our idea for the band is to evolve from time to time, that’s what our future is. We don’t want to stick around doing the same thing. We want to evolve and give new music to people. Our album is the biggest dream we have accomplished as a team. We make good music, and when people enjoy the music, that’s what make it a great music.

Interviewed By Verus Ferreira