To look at Afie Jurvanen, who records as Bahamas, you couldn’t peg him as a musician, or anything else for that matter. He has a casual, nondescript appearance and demeanour that seems ironic once his songs take up prime real estate in your brain.

“Lost in the Light” from the latest Bahamas album Bar Chords is one of the most deceptively addictive songs I’ve heard in months and months, a hum-hooked folk tune that, appropriately, makes the listener feel like lying on some tropical beach a thousand miles from Canada. I asked the one-time Juno Award nominated Jurvanen all about it, and everything else that goes into his art, after his appearance in our Garage Sessions studio.

You and I both grew up in Barrie, Ontario, a place not known for its music.

It’s probably not unlike any other local small town, but yeah the music community I grew up with was very small. The guys in Zeus are from Barrie. We kind of ran through all our resources in terms of places to play pretty quickly, all the garages and basements and The Foundation [nightclub.] It’s basically cover bands and punk rock. There was nothing like what I was doing. In some ways it was good. [I wasn’t] surrounded or influenced by too many things.

Nonetheless did you have a sense of the bigger musical world?

In the early '90s we really looked to Halifax; Sloan, Superfriends, Thrush Hermit, all on their own label. It was inspiring to think we could do something like that, just a community of artists helping each other out, working on each other’s albums, helping each other put on shows. I would say that was our biggest inspiration because it seemed doable. It wasn’t about hanging out with Bono.

Without that strong external influence, why did you start making music?

Most of my friends just started playing guitar. If I was closer to my jock friends maybe I would have been a volleyball player. Right away it just made sense to me. There was an independence to it, you could have rhythm and melody, you could accompany yourself. The guitar symbolized a whole world to me.

Did you start writing right away?

Quickly, yeah. Before I even knew how to play chords I was making up my own melodies, strumming open strings and singing overtop.

Why did the name Bahamas appeal to you?

I knew that I wanted a [different] name for the project, mostly because I have an unusual name. And [my set-up] changes: sometimes I play solo, sometimes with a band, so the name can encompass everything I want. I guess I just liked the word, it conjures up nice imagery. Being from Barrie, Bahamas might as well be Mars. I’ve never been there but I fantasize about places like that.

It has a connotation for people who have never been there, I think, like as an idealized destination.

I didn’t think about that when I named it but people have suggested how it does something, it brings them to another place. But I didn’t plan it that way, though maybe the music is informed by the name more so now than it used to be.



Where does your given name Afie come from?

My mom just made it up. I’ve never found anyone else named Afie. My mom’s Finnish but it’s not a Finnish name. I’ve seen Afi and Alfie, but I dunno ... it’s a blessing and a curse. When I was young it was a real pain in the ass. I wanted to be a Kevin or a Jason. I’ve gotten used to it now.

Tell me about the song you played for us recently, “Lost in the Light.”

I just had the [guitar part] in my musical mind. I liked it but wasn’t gung-ho about writing the song until I came up with the chorus. And the rest flowed from there. Basically I play the riff and sing in between, as it’s one of those riffs that suggests how you should sing. When we recorded it I had the idea of making the drum [pattern] into a kind of heartbeat, like it never changes.

Was making your second album Bar Chords a greater challenge than your first?

I don’t buy into [the sophomore slump.] Maybe if you’re a giant rock star. But I’ve been doing the same thing since high school and have progressively gotten more confident. I’ve performed and toured more. I was definitely more comfortable and excited making this record. I made the first album really quickly and I’m happy how it turned out but with Bar Chords I wanted something more thought out. The spirit and loose energy is still there but the nature of touring has forced [my band and I] to get tighter. There’s a stronger root to the songs.

What’s the carry-over between records in terms of your band?

Not at all on the recording, just my friend Robbie, the engineer. I’ve done all my recording with him. I’m not the kind of guy who likes to worry about [recording technology.] I know what I want to achieve but all the crazy computer effects, I don’t really care about that stuff. Just the songs. If the song’s as good as it can be, that’s where you start and end everything.