Sitting in a dimly lit corner of a London, Ontario studio, you can feel the shift in the air. The industry didn’t just stall during the pandemic; it underwent a brutal, forced evolution. For the independent grinders, the ones who eat, sleep and breathe the circuit just to keep the lights on, the silence was deafening. But there is a silver lining for those with enough discipline to find it.
Isolation breeds either madness or masterpieces. As the world hit the brakes, the noise died down, leaving artists alone with their thoughts and their instruments. And we are about to see the results. A massive surge of pent-up creative energy is hitting the local scene, and Justin Maki is positioned right at the crest of that wave.
Maki is a technician. You can hear it in the way he places a note. There is a precision there that does not happen by accident. It comes from a life lived inside the melody. When you ask him about the origins of his craft, he points directly to his roots and a mother who understood that music is a language best learned early.
"My mother was a very active musician in her earlier years and when she had me she wanted to make sure that it was a prominent part of my upbringing so she got me to sing along with her, taught me to sing harmonies at a very young age, things like that," Maki says. "I was born in Japan and spent a total of eight years of my life there and karaoke is a big part of the culture down there so I just grew up singing. I’ve had some classical and pop vocal training and I currently take vocal lessons with Lorraine Lawson out of Toronto."
The Japan connection is vital. In the West, karaoke is a drunken Saturday night trope. In Japan, it is a discipline. It is about pitch, timing and the social ritual of performance. That foundation, combined with the high-level coaching from Lawson—who has polished some of the best voices in the country—gives Maki a technical floor that most indie artists never reach.
But every technician needs a bit of grit. For Maki, that came at age 11. That is when the formal training met the raw energy of a rehearsal room. He traded the solo microphone for the communal sweat of a band environment, learning how to hold his own in a mix.
"At the age of eleven my family enrolled me in Studio Arts Music Academy and Rock school and that’s when I got into guitar and started playing in bands for a number of years with that organization and then I just kind of branched off and started doing my own thing," he notes.
It is a classic trajectory. You learn the rules so you can break them. His early sonic palette was a mix of the sensitive and the aggressive. He found a middle ground in the mid-2000s trend of stripping back high-energy anthems to their acoustic bones, a move that clearly informed his current ability to command a room with just a guitar.
"It’s definitely evolved over the years," Maki says of his sound. "I started off doing more of an acoustic thing and that was influenced by artists like City and Colour who I still very much adore. I also was into a series of albums called Punk Goes Acoustic so bands like Green Day, Billy Talent, Papa Roach and Three Days Grace. Right now I identify a little more with music I like to call flirtatious jazz pop. I hope that it’s still very much accessible from a pop standpoint. My philosophy is always simplicity with underlying complexity so it’s still accessible but its fun to play."
The term "flirtatious jazz pop" might sound like a marketing gimmick, but it is actually a sharp piece of branding. It suggests a certain level of sophistication without the gatekeeping of traditional jazz. It is music for people who want to feel smart while they’re dancing. And it works.
Maki is also savvy enough to know that original art needs a hook to get people through the door. In an era where the algorithm is king, the cover song is the ultimate Trojan horse. He has taken cues from groups like Pomplamoose, who built empires by re-imagining the familiar. It is a pragmatic approach to a fickle business.
My mother was a very active musician in her earlier years and when she had me she wanted to make sure that it was a prominent part of my upbringing so she got me to sing along with her, taught me to sing harmonies at a very young age. I was born in Japan and spent a total of eight years of my life there and karaoke is a big part of the culture down there so I just grew up singing.
"I understand where I’m at in my career that it’s just smart from a business standpoint to throw in covers as a way to appeal to my audience," he explains. "I kind of aim to do half and half. I’m still constantly writing but playing and posting covers are a tried and true marketing strategy and I try to put my own spin on them, put my own personality in them so it’s still me."
This is the reality of the modern musician. You are a CEO, a marketing director and a creator all at once. If you aren't thinking about the "business standpoint," you aren't going to have a career for very long. But the heart of the matter remains the writing.
Writing is a strange alchemy. Some artists need to be bleeding to produce a decent chorus. They chase the trauma. Maki, however, seems to be moving in the opposite direction. He is looking for the light, even if he has to invent the story from scratch.
"I guess it depends on the song," he says. "I do have the ability to construct a story that isn’t necessarily extracted directly from my experience and create a storyline that is thoughtful and fits within the realm of reality, but I find the most genuine songs come from personal experience so I write both."
There is a persistent myth in the arts that stability is the enemy of creativity. We love the image of the starving, tortured songwriter. But Maki rejects the idea that you need to be in the gutter to write a hit. He views his music as a utility—a way to lift the listener out of the mundane.
"Funny you say that because it’s assumed that you need to have significant almost traumatic experience in your life to be inspired and with my music I try to provide a joyful escape from this crazy world we’re living in so coming along with that I hope that in balance I’m conveying more positive messages and uplifting with my music," Maki says. "So I guess I’m drawing from more positive experiences in my life."
It’s a refreshing take. And it’s a necessary one. We have enough dirges. Sometimes you just want a groove that doesn't demand you carry its baggage.
Maki’s hustle isn't limited to the stage, either. He’s a guy who understands the value of a day job and how to make it serve the art. A few years back, he managed to bridge the gap between his role as a car salesman and his life as a performer in a way that would make any PR firm proud.
"Yeah, that was a lot of fun, that was an event introducing the 2019 RAV4 and I was very graciously asked to do a presentation on the RAV4 and also hired to perform at the event which was kind of convenient because I work there," he says.
That is the "519" spirit right there. You use every tool in the shed. If you’re selling cars by day and songs by night, why not do both at the same time? It shows a lack of pretension that is vital for longevity in this industry.
Currently, Maki is in the middle of a massive pivot. Like everyone else, his 2020 schedule was tossed into the shredder. But rather than sulking, he used the downtime to expand his scope. What was supposed to be a modest EP has ballooned into something much more substantial.
"Yes, I released a single back in February and I’m currently working on a full length album," Maki says. "The original plan was to wrap up and release my 3rd EP by the end of this year but with the Corona virus and not being able to see my producer who by the way is Mathew Johnston out of London Ontario, we weren’t able to stay on schedule. Fortunately we’re back in the studio now (following Covid protocols) and have expanded the vision of a 7 song EP to a 10 song album, to be released incrementally and then as a whole."
Working with Mathew Johnston gives Maki a solid anchor in the local scene. But the lockdown also forced a new collaboration closer to home. When you’re stuck in a house with another talented creator, the result is almost inevitable.
"Yeah, because I did my best to write as much as I could during quarantine and things are a little bit more alleviated now so I had more to bring to the table and it was almost a blessing in disguise and I’m really looking forward to releasing stuff," he says. "I plan to release my second single from that album, Different Kind of Love Sept. 18. I wrote this song with my roommate Alex Emrich who is also the producer of the track. This was the first opportunity that we really had the time to write together, something we had been discussing for a long time, but had yet to act on."
The track itself, "Different Kind of Love," is a direct response to the era of social distancing. It’s a song about the frustration of a new spark being smothered by a global lockdown. It’s relatable, it’s timely and it was born out of convenience.
"We wanted to write a Jazzy Pop song about a fresh romantic relationship that is rudely interrupted by a period of sudden and non-negotiable distance," Maki explains. "The song depicts a couple as they try to navigate dating in this new context, finding creative ways to develop a connection without access to the physical touch. Alex is a very accomplished writer and producer and with his skill and talent, we were able to realize our vision for this song. Alex has a recording studio in the basement of our joint living space, so it made it very convenient to record the track."
Having a studio in the basement is the ultimate cheat code for an indie artist. It removes the friction between the idea and the execution. But even with that advantage, the finish line for the full album is still a few months off. Quality takes time, and Maki isn't interested in rushing the final product.
"The songs are essentially written, but 4 out of the ten still need to be recorded in full," he says. "To expedite the recording process, I have also started to work with Alex more extensively, as I’m happy with how 'Different Kind of Love' turned out! A music video, and supportive content should accompany the release, but those details are still TBD. I plan on releasing more singles but most of that will come out in 2021 as well as the album itself. There will not be a release party, but I am certainly in the process of booking shows all across South Western, ON at various venues. Keep an eye out on my website for show updates at justinmakimusic.ca."
The lack of a release party is a sign of the times, but the focus on touring Southwestern Ontario is where the real work happens. From the bars in London to the theatres in Windsor, that is where an artist like Maki proves his worth. He has the voice, he has the business mind and he has the "flirtatious" hooks to make it stick.
If 2020 was the year of the pause, 2021 is shaping up to be the year of the payoff. Maki is betting on himself, and based on the sheer volume of work he’s put in while the rest of the world was watching Netflix, it’s a bet I wouldn’t take against him. Keep your ears open. The wave is coming.
