Bahamian musician creates a new Junkanoo Sound

Bahamian musician & producer Brent Justice

Musicians at the Junka Shack Studio are taking Junkanoo artistry in a new direction with the latest evolution in Bahamian music. 

It is the sound you hear before the trance consumes your senses on Junkanoo morning – not the full weight of the music that enraptures your soul as you experience it full force, but the tiny little sound you hear when you first approach Bay Street. 

Bahamians know the sound, because it makes them quicken their pace as they weave through the crowd in search of a space to witness the open-air parade of Bahamian culture. It is the sound that drives their senses into a frenzy, prompting them to rise to their feet and look down the street to see who comin'. "That is the essence of Junkanoo and that is in essence Junka," said musician, producer Brent Justice, owner of the Junka Shack Studio.

Justice, who can be called a musical mad scientist, is the architect of the new Bahamian musical genre called "Junka."

He decoded the Bay Street sound and broke down Junkanoo into the syntax of musicians, numbers and time signatures. Building on the rudimentary Bay Street sound, he translated conventional Junkanoo into music fit for studio production and the international stage.

Click HERE to read full article by Noelle Nichols of The Tribune.