From a 10x10 concrete “cube” room in Newark, New Jersey, to the hottest venues in the tri-state area: bunkr.

The pandemic hit everybody hard. From small to big businesses, and of course, the creatives. But when everything slows down, the stillness also creates a space to think, to build, to try.

Joshua Garcia and Nick Keleshian, Newark-based DJs, curators, creatives, and entrepreneurs, experienced that firsthand. They met in high school, and their shared Uruguayan heritage wasn’t the only thing they had in common: they both shared (and still do) a passion and interest for creating. 

Nick, a Rutgers alumn, and Josh, a FIT alumn, spent their post-grad years in that phase where uncertainty predominates - applying to jobs, testing ideas, collaborating when they could. Eventually, all those projects led them to create their own certainty. That was bunkr. 

Photo: @socalledstudios

bunkr is a space for aspiring DJs to practice, connect, and rent equipment, and it's also a network of DJs and venues that bring fine musical curation to events across the tri-state area. That’s what bunkr is, even though it is quite hard to put them in a box (unironically).

“…we do offer a place for DJs, physical space for them to come and practice, make videos, and learn to DJ, as well as meet other peers and like-minded individuals. So, like in Jersey, we have a storefront location where people stop by all the time and where they host their own events. We have events with skateboarders, Jersey Club DJs, and producers. We have yearly reggae events. So I guess we haven't pigeonholed ourselves to one specific lane,” 

Nick shared with me, when asked, that bunkr also follows other creative lanes beyond music. And that refusal to stay in one lane is what built their community.

“We are open to literally any and all communities, and I think that's what makes our reach and brand as strong as it is because we're, for lack of a better term, tapped into all these different avenues. Like different groups of people will come to different events because they know that they had a good time at the last one, so they'll try this new one. Then they’ll make friends with people at this new one, and over time, this continues to grow and grow.”

Photo: @steezy_luiz

For them, a good event isn’t just music. A good event is defined by its atmosphere and every detail that shapes it. It is like a universe you can immerse yourself in. And without fully realizing it, I have been a witness to this before. Like I mentioned in my previous Leche Mag story:

“It was clear that the wide range of DJ’s were reading the room very well. Everybody was in tune, enjoying the same beauty of the cars around us…”

And as a disclaimer, I wasn’t aware of bunkr’s goal when it comes to vibe-curating when I attended Wheels of NYC. Looking back, it makes so much sense.

“It’s just culture… anything of quality and culture, we’re interested in.”

But before the custom DJ booths and the variety of events, bunkr was, as the name suggests, a windowless concrete room in Newark. 

“Our room was literally a 10-foot by 10-foot cube. A concrete cube with no windows, nothing. It was like a converted parking deck. You literally couldn’t see anything. It was just all concrete. Like a bunker.”

And the name came naturally. In the same early stages of figuring things out, even the visual identity was defined by Joshua and Nick looking around them. Bright yellow ratchet straps were (and still are) helpful for absolutely everything in production, so naturally, as with everything else, this became their color.

Photo: @socalledstudios

But the space alone was one of the most important factors that built bunkr, along with timing.

During the pandemic, when everything shut down, DJs lost their usual entry points almost overnight—no venues, no crowds, no physical places to exist in. The best way for them to continue to thrive in hard times was through screens.

“At the time we started, it was the only way DJs could get out there. Video content and live streaming were the only things we could do. So we built a business around that.”

Again, in a time of uncertainty, bunkr created the certainty New Jersey’s artists needed within that limitation. A place where DJs didn’t need to figure out on their own. Equipment, production, and a welcoming space to collaborate were already there waiting for them at that “bunker.”

At the same time, they were experimenting with events in any way they could. Outdoor gatherings and small crowds were allowed, so they found a way to work with the circumstances and come together again. And once they moved into a larger space on Halsey Street, they could see it even more clearly: Newark didn’t only need a space for DJs to practice, they also needed a place to host and even perform.

“We realized that events were a big thing people were looking for. There was no real mid-size or small venue for people to do events. Now we’re already designed to have the DJ equipment, speakers, etc.”

The need for bunkr built momentum in New Jersey, but the story is slightly different in New York. A city where there is always something happening, another party, another set, so when bunkr crosses the Hudson, the main priority in their work is intention.

Nick and Josh believe that curating a lineup is never random and definitely is not based on popularity. Every decision comes down to how the entire experience will feel. For some events, this means bringing in people they’ve been working with for years, and for others, it’s about introducing someone new. It truly comes down to who actually fits a specific moment, because for bunkr, the entire experience starts with the audience.

Photo: @steezy_luiz

“We’re still delivering on a really high quality. Most people would take the budget we had and just bring a speaker, hoping for the best. But we’re creating something people are not going to forget.”

But all this doesn’t stop in New York. For bunkr, the future is more than just getting “bigger”. It is more about building across different communities. Josh sees it as an extension of what they have been doing, just pushed a bit more, and further.

“I think it’s just being in spaces that people might not necessarily know us in already. Just doubling down on that in a lot more different realms.”

At the same time, cities like London, Paris, and even Tokyo naturally come up in the conversation as places that already feel aligned with bunkr and its art. Taking that same approach, they have here in the Tri-State area and see how it translates everywhere else is the goal.

Something that isn’t really talked about as much, but like everything else, it naturally came up as yours truly is Latina (Arriba Perú!), is their background.

Both Josh and Nick are first-generation Latinos, with roots in Uruguay and Perú. It is not something they center bunkr around, but it still has an effect.

“I don’t want bunkr to be based on just that. It’s bigger than that. But it’s still a part of it.”

Like everyone else’s, their heritage shows up in smaller ways, like how they grew up, the music they were exposed to, and the culture around them. 

I am grateful I got to learn about something so inspiring and tasteful. What started in a literal cube room in Newark is constantly expanding in remarkable ways. And it is all based on intention and consideration, which, in my opinion, is a rarity in the day and age we live in.

As bunkr travels through different cities, scenes, and communities, they stay true to what they believe their audience deserves—intention and quality.

So for the DJs reading this, if you feel as inspired as I do about the core of bunkr and would love to contribute to this growing community, as Nick said, 

“Just be easy to work with, and enjoy the art that is music.”

Photo: @antbluejr