Search - Justin Hines :: Days To Recall

Recording Days To Recall took about six months, beginning in the summer of 2010. It was recorded at Cantebury Sound in Toronto with Justin Abedin, who was also at the helm for Hines' last records. Dave Way (Pual McCartney, Pink, Sheryl Crow) produced the first single Tell Me I'm Wrong and also contributed with his sonic expertise by mixing the entire album. The goal was, once more, to capture Hines songs as close to his original vision. "A song's vibe, its character, is something I already feel when I'm writing, so the studio process doesn't really take it far from its original form." Hines goes in partly with the folk singer/songwriter's ethos, a product of his guitarist father and his record collection. "I will travel the musical map in search of the authentic but I always come home to folk music. It's where my soul is." The album's opener, "Just The Same", came in a matter of minutes toward the end of recording. "I wrote it almost on a whim-I think it reflects the style of guitar I would play if I could play guitar," he laughs. Days To Recall does mark Hines' first non-vocal performance as well: adding percussion via a "crazy kids' toy" he picked up for his own pleasure to the album's second love song, "Now There's You" "Momentarily" is also straight from the heart, written a few years back and finally seeing the light of album. Hines has been waiting to get this one out. "It's not autobiographical but, at the time, a lot of people in my world were leaving and moving on to greener pastures. This song is about when those people come back after an absence." Some tracks Hines writes from the perspective of another, while some are personal. This album also marks the first straight-up love songs Hines has created. "I don't write a lot of love songs; it was a cool challenge to finally tackle that. It's the most written about topic in the world but in the case of 'See You Like I Do', I had someone particular in mind." Pressed, Hines will tell you it's directed at his wife, they having married between albums. In contrast to that stands "Why Not Love Me" which is about the universal predicament of feeling something that isn't felt for you in return.