Afie Jurvanen isn’t from the Bahamas. He’s a Finnish Canadian from Barrie, Ontario. But his chosen epithet is fitting. Since 2009 he’s been making music under the name Bahamas- writing songs about sunsets, love affairs, and making out with crooked smiles. Through simple arrangements, he charts an escape route from the snow belt to the coral reefs. His new album, Bahamas Is Afie, was released August 19, 2014 and is a coming of age record. Self titled and self produced, it is the next step in the evolution of Jurvanen’s songcraft, guitar mastery, and melodic pop hooks, following his previous full lengths Pink Strat (2009) and Barchords (2011). Bahamas is Afie remains a sparse, moving, headphone album, complemented by a more developed arrangement of strings, brass, winds, orchestral percussion, and chamber choruses that transport the listener from moving seas to a search for strength, to a place of resolve and comfort. As a producer and session musician, he is known as one of Canada’s most talented guitarists and he has worked with artists such as Feist, Jason Collett and Jack Johnson, releasing his albums on the latter’s Brushfire Records. His first ever Sudbury show will truly be one for the books.
