DJ Junior Brown

Soulful sounds and strong roots

WORDS BY FRANCESCA ROZNICKI PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVEN HOPE

From a young age, DJ Junior Brown established a strong community of music lovers in Edmonton. An established serial entrepreneur, Brown is part of the ownership group that runs Red Star, The Bower, and Lock Stock Coffee, all on Jasper Avenue. Brown grew up surrounded by community and culture, and injects that passion into the tunes he spins every weekend night. We sat down with the talented DJ to ask about how he came to be such a statement in our city’s music scene, how important the roots of music are, and what’s most important to him when it comes to living the good life.

Tell us about how you got your start in music and business.

I grew up in St. Albert and my musical journey started at a very young age, when I was about five years old. My parents really embraced their Caribbean heritage and were always throwing house and hall parties. The music that came out of the speaker boxes was a great mix of soul, funk, disco, reggae and calypso. Surrounded by all that music and culture made it natural for me to spend time playing in my parents’ basement in their DJ booth. I made mixtapes for my friends with my dad’s early hip hop records like Grandmaster Flash, then progressed to artists like Public Enemy.

I travelled to London with my family when I was 15 and that is where I discovered electronic and house sound. When we came back, I wanted to share this new music and culture with people, so I started throwing my own parties for my friends. Starting these parties with my friends was the very beginning of this business—and those friends that I threw hall parties with are my business partners today.

It was such a natural progression from my parents’ basement, absorbing all of this culture, and being a sponge to the music, to throwing my own house and hall parties, to eventually hosting club nights in the city at different bars. My business partners and I opened up Halo in 2001. At the time, Edmonton’s downtown was not known for nightlife—you went to Whyte Avenue or West Edmonton Mall for that. But when we opened, we had instant success because of the community we had already built. We started out being open seven days a week and we were really focused on house music. But back then, it was still so new and many people weren’t familiar with that sound. Our business shifted over time and Halo had its ups and downs. It was open for 13 years before we re-branded it as The Bower.

It's been a long journey. We've been downtown running these businesses for 23 years. We've seen the ups, we've seen downs, and as we progress we’ve become more seasoned in business. But the DJ thing is in my DNA—it’s in my blood. Being able to operate a business and still fulfill my passion is such a gratifying experience. Because I am involved in the business side of things, I see the reservations coming through, I know who is coming, what song requests they have and what kind of sound they are looking for when I am in the DJ booth every weekend night. This is my home… it’s my sanctuary.

What changes and trends have you seen in the DJ scene?

The internet and social media have caused the most changes. Anyone who has a computer can just download music, put it on a flashdrive and call themselves a DJ. People had to be a lot more discerning in the past, so the attention to detail was different back then versus now. I feel like some of the focus has moved from the music, to things like logos and how people look behind the turntables. Music should always be number one.

The way I see it, there’s soul, funk and disco. Soul music became R&B. Funk became hip hop. Disco became house music. DJs should understand the foundation—if you're playing R&B and hip hop, you should know about funk. If you're playing house music, you should know about where disco music came from. This music came from oppressed black communities… house music started in black communities in Chicago and New York. You need to pay homage to the foundation of the music. You should know the history of the music you play.

What have you found to be effective ways for you to relax and unwind with a job that is so on the go?

My way of relaxing is still work. It’s going through all the music for our Saturday club night called For Those Who Know which focuses on soulful house and disco. I'm constantly getting inspired each day. It could be by digging through the records or going through my books in our basement. We call our basement the analog station, because that’s where everything is tangible—books, records, nothing is digital down there. It forces you to go to the record shelf, touch the sleeves and grab a record.

What are your three non-negotiable luxuries you need to have in your life?

Music is definitely number one. If I'm ever feeling down or uninspired, I know I need to hear some soulful music. Soulful music means, no matter what the genre it is, it's got to hit the heart. This is how I present it at the club too. I know what music does for me, but I know what it does for others, too, so I feel like when I share it with people, whether it's on the dance floor or through a text message, it’s a point of connection.

To be honest, family is also number one because without the support of my family, we wouldn't even be here having this conversation. My parents and my in-laws and my wife, my young son—everybody is so supportive and we need that strong supportive network and community to be ourselves and keep us inspired. I am honestly just so grateful that I was raised in such an enriched culture. Weekend after weekend, we were always visiting friends and family. Being around such a strong and vibrant community was the catalyst for me to create my own community—and I am still building that today.