Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Erup's 'Click Me Finga' is a hit on Truckback's 'Gearbox' rhythm.- file

Making music from the back of a truck seems like a notion straight out of a strange cartoon, but for the Locke brothers of Truckback Productions it's a regular day at work.

Based in the container of a former moving truck, the studio of Truckback Productions is a stationary wonder. Owned and operated by brothers, Steven, Andrew and Adrian Locke, Truckback Productions drove full force into dancehall at the end of 2007 with the 'Gearbox' rhythm, featuring Erup's Click Me Finga, Harry Toddler's Don't Run In and other hits.

Cement steps lead into the back of the truck where a small, but equipped office is situated, complete with a computer with high-speed Internet connection. Then it's into the largest room (where the air conditioning is on full blast), which looks into a small voicing room. A keyboard, equipment, computer and mixing devices are littered around the main room, with the signatures of a number of artistes all over the walls and ceiling.

In the voicing room is a microphone, drums, keyboards and other instruments, as the producers prefer to work with live instruments.

While the space might be small, according to Steven a whole band can hold in the studio at one time. However, he joked that the voicing would have to done at a later point due to space challenges.

It was the force of nature that inadvertently caused the development of Truckback Studio in 2004. Adrian tells The Sunday Gleaner "the actual studio got started in 2004. We were doing pre-production inside the house, my father had the truck. When Ivan came it blew off the roof of the studio, so we moved into the truck two days after." full-time producing

The idea of moving into the truck came from Steven, who had seen, while in the United States, bands that practised in trucks and confined spaces and he expanded the idea to apply to a studio. For the brothers, music was always an interest having learned to play from some of the top names in the business including Marjorie Whylie, Jon Williams and Mikey Fletcher, among others. Among the three they can play the keyboards, guitar and drums.

Steven started the Kaushon Band, which broke up, before he began producing full-time.

After doing a lot of work with Elephant Man in the early days of Truckback Studio the trio decided to spread its wings. It started off by building two rhythms, 'Train' and 'Mous Mous', that got some response on the radio, but really hit it big with 'Gearbox'. From the onset, Adrian knew there was something special about it.

"I felt that buzz in the early stages; I felt confident in it. Didn't know it was gonna blow di world, but knew it was a good rhythm. It was not until we put out Gearbox and got the buzz on the streets that we decided to stick to the evil we know, producing," he says.

Since Gearbox, the group has given all its rhythms truck allusions, including the 'Clutch', featuring Capleton's Gimme Di Tings, Spragga's Inna Di Club and Monster Empire's Di Tings. Its latest rhythms are called 'Oleaxle' and 'Springblade'. It is currently working on the album for its artiste Baijie, after having successfully got Monster Empire off the ground and doing the majority of dancehall songs from Trinidadian artiste Bunji Garlin.

Truckback Productions prides itself on its originality, as it won't work with someone who has a song written already, but prefers to work with people who will build a song for its rhythms in order to ensure a 'new' sound. For the future the brothers see themselves at the top of the game, always releasing new music.

Brothers and owners of Truckback Studio, Steven (left) and Adrian Locke.- photo by Krista Henry