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Afie Jurvanen isn’t from the Bahamas. He’s a Finnish-Canadian from Barrie–a working class town in rural 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, will be released August 19, 2014 on Brushfire Records/Universal.

Bahamas is Afie 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.

“This feels like a self-titled record to me. The songs seem to have a definitive quality to them, and they ended up going to all kinds of unexpected musical places. I really thought I was going to make a traditional folk record but as the recording evolved I started having some pretty different ideas. I started playing this game like, ‘what would 80s Van Morrison do if he were producing this?’ or ‘what about John Williams?’ It all came together in a simple, naive and direct way and I was really energized by the process. And I got to play a lot of guitar…I feel like I’ll get another chance to make a folkie record somewhere down the road. For now, this is me.”

All Of It Was Mine, the second record by The Weather Station, was released on tiny but beloved Canadian label You’ve Changed Records (The Constantines, Daniel Romano). Despite its modest release, the subtle songcraft of Tamara Lindeman found admirers across the country. She toured as handpicked opener for Bahamas, Basia Bulat, Jason Collett, Siskiyou, and played festivals such as Hillside, Sappyfest, Dawson City Music Festival, Wolfe Island, and many more. She toured the USA, played NC’s Hopscotch Music Festival, and most recently, toured Japan. She has also been in demand as collaborator, appearing on new records by Doug Paisley (Warner), Field Report (Partisan), Will Stratton (Post Empire), Siskiyou (Constellation), and Daniel Romano (New West), among others.
 
Lindeman has always been a songwriter’s songwriter, earning accolades for her delicate, carefully worded verse, filled with double meanings, complex metaphors, and rich details of the everyday. Her work has been covered by Pitchfork, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and many more, and has been spun on CBC, BBC, NPR, and college radio. Her new project, a series of duets with local songwriters, was nominated for the 2013 SOCAN songwriting prize.
 
Her third record, entitled Loyalty, was recorded in France in the winter of 2014. A collaboration with Afie Jurvanen (Bahamas) and Robbie Lackritz (Feist) the record will be released in 2015.