"Boma" refers to a port town along the Congo River , which explains the album's iconic cover art featuring hippopotamuses in a river.

Keyboardist Marc Hollander (later of Aksak Maboul ) used "Dadaist synthesizers" and treated Farfisa organs to create a sound that felt ahead of its time, sometimes even evoking 1980s synth-pop years early. Themes of Harmony and Disruption

Beneath the playful surface, the "deep" intent of Viva Boma touches on the relationship between humanity and the natural world.