The Story Of Laxmi Bomb

By Akriti Niti Guha
October 19, 2017

This Diwali We Bring You The Real BOMB | Laxmi Bomb !

Say hello to Laxmi Bomb, A 4 piece musical act who have blown our mind away and to be honest are one of the BEST electronic pop bands out there. The ‘bomb’ is Keegan Pereira (vocals), Levin Mendes (songwriter), Major C (decks) and Joaquim Fernandes (keys). Their sound is a mix of quirky 90’s pop and funky electronic grooves and it’s really unlike anything I’ve ever come across. The thing about Laxmi bomb that strikes me the most is the fact that they identify their band as the female gender and seem to be one of the few musicians in the indie scene that focus a lot on issues around women empowerment, sexism, and even other socio-cultural issues. Also, have to mention their mind-bending visuals and artwork that embody the spirit of the badass, contemporary woman (or any other gender you identify with).

The Theme

The theme is reflective of those times and represented through a young woman’s imagery. A traveler of the many landscapes in a city called ‘H?’, the title of their debut EP. It meanders through the ‘happy-hustle-bustle’ and ‘eerie calm’ in equal capacity. With classic Hindi cinema motifs and pop-disco beats thrown in for candid measure. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1ozUWWZTM8[/embedyt]

LIVE Presence Of Laxmi Bomb

From dropping bombs across six-cities in the Malaysian Peninsula on their maiden international tour in May 2016, headlining marquee festivals such as ‘Nariyal Paani’, playing the big stages at Ziro Festival of Music, Ragasthan, New Wave Festival and performing to a packed audience at Antisocial, Mumbai for the launch of their latest E.P., this ‘fiery-foursome’ have had some thrilling LIVE encounters that have left audiences spell-bound across South-East Asia and within the country.

Loudest spoke to Keegan Pereira about Laxmi being the feminist idol the society needs right now, their groovy beats, storytelling through their art and how not all bombs are bad.

Loudest: I've come across you referring to Laxmi as an individual. Tell me more about 'Laxmi'? Who is she and what is her journey about?

LB: ‘Laxmi’ is the bomb, isn’t she? Well, not to paint a picture, but instead, provide context. ‘Laxmi’ was a typical girl living in the suburbs of Mumbai. But not the affluent suburban part, more like your middle-class housing society that had been upgraded from a chawl system (the ones with the common toilets). She studied in a ‘Roman-Catholic’ school and picked up most of her ‘English’ from her academic years. She was a very bright, spirited girl who was extremely passionate about the fine arts, especially singing and dancing. She was always amongst the popular students in the class, owing to her quick-witted humor and general ‘big-heartedness’. But beyond the smile, lay the torment of domestic abuse handed out by her alcoholic father and certain cases of sexual abuse hurled upon her by one particular neighbor ‘uncle’. She is smart enough to not blame herself for the incidents, but wasn’t strong enough to speak about them ‘openly’. Today, ‘Laxmi Bomb’ is a strong, independent woman, the one that makes ‘society’ uncomfortable. She doesn’t give a fuck, she dresses as she pleases, will speak her mind and is willing to bare her soul to make those ‘hurting but truthful’ statements. So in our minds, she is the collective symbol of women across India who brave it out on a daily front but can never afford to speak about it. And it’s through ‘Laxmi’ and her ‘brazen’ personality, we are able to express emotions and address stereotypes that are generally ‘hard to talk about’. And the truth is, though society will ‘flirt’ with the idea of a ‘Laxmi’, she will never be easily accepted. But that’s where our challenge and the journey lie, to make her ‘public’.

Loudest: What is the creative process of The Bomb? Do you just improvise and let the flow come naturally or is there a 'zone' you need to tap into?

LB: It’s a very simple process, akin to that within an advertising agency. The ‘creative team’ comes up with the idea/composition. Which in turn, is laid out in front of the ‘content team’. This is where all the copy/literature for the song is written. It’s then sent to the ‘design’ (sound) team, who spruce and cosmetically enhance the composition. And when all done, it’s in the hands of the client servicing (read. managers/promoters / organizers/publications) who invariably mess the ‘creative’.

Loudest: The artwork and concept behind Mah'Bharat is unbelievable and really left an impact on me. Tell us more about your love for psychedelic artwork which is fused with beautiful Indian elements and just nails the fight against patriarchy.

LB: With ‘Laxmi Bomb’ we believe in making strong visual statements. They seem to last longer than spoken words in a world of abundance. And it’s not just psychedelic artwork that we love; we love ‘psychedelics’ in general (beyond the designer goodies of course). By psychedelics, we mean ‘nature’. And by ‘nature’ we mean the elements that encompass it. There are many hues, dynamics, interlacing with each other and forming hidden layers. And if someone cares enough, you will discover. Take the Mah’Bharat artwork for instance: The ‘psychedelia’ we are referring to is ‘Lady Laxmi’ herself. The psychedelics although fluid, never change. Her stance, her drapery, her almost unknown face and the ‘crimson’ bindi are all a part of it. That’s her mental make-up and her newly attained sensory perception. The ‘nature’ we’re talking about is the backdrop, or the setting (in this case, the ‘country’). With its vast expanse, spanning length and breadth of the nation, the artwork had to reflect that space. Hence the size of the artwork and the panning of the canvas to take a good look at it. And finally the ‘elements’, different socio-political groups who have borne ‘false’ witness to the ‘psychedelics’, and leave with a different experience of the same tale. So then it all comes together, each piece within the block has their own story and it all stems from one source, ‘Laxmi’. We love that kind of shit!

Loudest: Laxmi Bomb has this disruptive and almost anarchist vibe based on your music and visuals. Is that a shared feeling or just an exaggerated perspective of the band?

LB: Now we’re talking about the ‘Bomb’ in ‘Laxmi’. Yes, she has this side to her that is very disruptive and almost anarchist on many levels. Having said that, we’d like to disrupt the idea of ‘disruption’ in itself. The idea is very simple. Not all bombs are bad. And we’d like to #BOMBTHEWORLD with our music, our culture, and our message. And with regards to the latter, we've always used with subtle references to the 'grim reality' or use imagery that attempts to 'break the stereotype' in some form or fashion. The H? 'EP' artwork delves into the mundane life of women in our city. And if you look closely, within the mundane, she finds a moment of indulgence, one moment where she slips into her fantasy within an extremely local setting such as a train ride and that is her moment of arrival.

The 'Album Launch' flyer went further to showcase 'Laxmi' as a beautiful renegade who chooses to express herself and unwilling to easily give up on her 'male-oriented' passions.

It moves onto Mah'Bharat which a 'poignant reminder' of the horrors of society in which a woman who has been misread and victimized by a person/entity gets victimized by the entire nation.

And right now, Laxmi Bomb has reached a state of quintessentially 'not giving a fuck'. The last artwork for the playlist 'Best of 2016' shows her as a woman who will let go of the 'grey days' but strongly & fiercely determined to build a colourful future.

Loudest: Tell us about Laxmi Bomb 's music featuring in Aditya Kripalani’s critically acclaimed indie flick 'Tikli & Laxmi Bomb' and how that came together?

LB: It actually came together just like that, over a Facebook conversation with Mr.Kriplani himself. He had a book with the same title as our band (almost). The book was being made into a film and it addressed societal issues faced by prostitutes and how they needed to change the ‘business model’ of the system. It sounded pretty ‘Laxmi Bomb’ to us ? So yeah, now you will hear at least 4-5 songs of ours interspersed within the background score of the movie.

Loudest: The teasers for the new singles look MENTAL. When's the new album/EP set for release and what do Bombers (I know it's not the most upbeat term but it's what I like to call myself and fans of Laxmi Bomb ) expect?

LB: Oct end (31st) is the scheduled release date for now. But it really depends on the ‘ALMIGHTY APPLE’ and their prodigal son ‘iTunes’ to pass muster. Rest networks are in place. In terms of what to expect, besides the 10 tracks that will be featured on the album titled ‘Bol Na Ranti’, you can expect some of the usual ‘Laxmi Bomb’ keedas and some ‘not so usual’.

Loudest: Can we expect Laxmi Bomb to go on tour soon or any upcoming gigs that we should know about?

LB: We have some ‘LAXMI’ #BOMB news to share with everyone soon.

Loudest: Anything that Laxmi would like to say to readers and fans?

LB: Dear Reader, Thank you for reaching the end of this lovely interview and reading it all the way till here. You seem to be a fan of Laxmi Bomb. Well, even if you aren’t, we hope you will be. As a thank you note, we’d like to give you our album for free. Just send us your email address in our inbox. You can reach us at www.facebook.com/laxmibomb or email us at laxmibombers@gmail.com Cheers. Love & Light, Laxmi.

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