LIVE: Aeolian Phoenix Sessions Summer Retrospective Series with the Aeolian Songwriting Contest Shortlist

Justin Maki is a “Flirtatious Jazz-Pop” artist out of London, ON. He is the FCLMA’s 2021 “Pop Artist of the Year” and 2022 "Contemporary Singer-Songwriter of the Year". Japan born and Canada bred, Justin’s music carefully draws influence from R&B, Soul, Funk, and Jazz and packages it in an accessible Pop format: imagine blending Allen Stone, John Mayer, Bruno Mars, and Robin Thicke. He hopes that his music facilitates a joyful escape for all who choose to listen.

Justin has played over 1,000 gigs from Halifax to Prince George and has shared the stage with the likes of The Sheepdogs, Measha Brueggergosman, Neon Dreams, and Monster Truck. From bars to concert halls, backyard parties, weddings, and festivals, Justin has been entertaining 100,000s of patrons for the last 17 years. He has had the pleasure of working with such accomplished producers as Matthew Johnston (produced for Shad, Saveria, and Chad Price) and Mark Howard (produced Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, U2, and Neil Young) and he also won Western University’s Battle of the Bands in 2015, as well as Western Voice in 2016.

Justin’s latest release is his debut album, "New Flame". This is a diverse concept album that traverses the different stages of a romantic relationship from first spark to last billow of smoke. The young artist has 1 more album set to drop in 2022, “Good Vibes”, as well as a play called “New Flame: The Musical” coming out in 2023. If this doesn’t keep him busy enough, Justin hopes to visit America this year to explore production, performance, and networking opportunities. As always, he will continue to spread joy through music and expand his audience in the process.

Born and raised in the Forest City, music always played an integral part of Jordan’s upbringing. From violin lessons to youth choirs, Jordan was very fortunate to have a family that valued the arts as much as they did. Jordan pursued music at the University of Western Ontario in Vocal Performance and was heavily involved in early music ensembles and the opera department while attending. After school Jordan took a job with WestJet where he continues to be happily employed as a Cabin Crew Member. As a pandemic inspired project, Jordan began song writing in 2020 under the name Jordie B and has thoroughly enjoyed developing this new creative skill. In addition to his flying schedule and song writing, this fall Jordan looks forward to starting a new chapter, beginning his Masters in Historical Performance at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, working as the alto section lead for St Thomas’s Anglican Church and joining the musical group THAT CHOIR for their 2022/2023 season. London, Ontario has been the foundation for Jordan’s musical journey thus far and he hopes to continue to foster and deepen musical connections within this incredibly rich and music filled city.\

I was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica.  I started playing the piano at the age of 7 with encouragement from my parents.  When I was 17 years old, I found my brother-in-law’s bass guitar and by the next morning I had taught myself the bass lines to a few songs. My passion for the bass guitar and for music in general grew from there.

When I started College, I became serious about my music career. I studied visual arts, Jazz theory and the bass guitar at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston, Jamaica.  During my studies my main influences were the various bands I performed in; the Javier Latin Jazz Band, the Jill Gibson Trio and the Kathy Brown Band, which allowed me to tour all around Jamaica.

During my final year of college, I started my own band called Airplai®. For the next four years my sole focus was on Airplai® Band, which was my first independent endeavor. I was then approached by GeeJam Studios to audition for their band, the Jolly Boys.  This was not a simple task as I needed to learn to play the banjo.  I arrived early for the audition and in three hours I taught myself how to play the banjo with the help of Mr. Google. For the next year I toured with the Jolly Boys around Europe, the Caribbean and the Middle East. During my time with the Jolly Boys, I collaborated on an album project called Quantum Reggae with song writer, Jim Belleau, and musician/singer/song writer, Maroghini.

I am also the owner and founder of Airplai® Productions, where we do album production, song writing, composing/arranging, video editing, film scoring, and jingles. Also, over a decade ago, I created the Perfect10course, which continues to offer online music lessons for bass guitar, guitar, drums, and piano. In 2013, I was discovered online by an agent, which led me to my current venture as a Solo Bassist/Guitarist onboard cruise ships.

In 2014, I released my first solo album, Just Passing Through, under the label Airplai®️ Productions. This project was ten years in the making. My second album, Feel Brand New, was released at the end of 2016. My most recent album, Early Days, was released in the summer of 2018. I’m very excited to announce that my fourth album is currently in the works and will be out very soon! All my albums are available on iTunes, GooglePlay and Amazon right now to download.

                                                                                                                                                                                     Showcasing various musical stylings throughout the gauntlet of Southern Ontario bars, pubs and music venues such as the London Music Hall, C’est What and the Avant-Garde Bar Paul St.Laurent has cultivated his own unique blend of lyrical prose and musical ability to formulate a folk sound that is sure to satiate the senses of the archetypal Canadian journeyman/womyn and quite possibly others as well.

Hi everyone, my name is Hirad T and I am from London Ontario. Music is something that has stayed with me for almost my entire life. First, I started learning the piano when I was 4 and later learned other musical instruments such as: Clarinet, Alto sax, guitar, and now drums. I look at music as a gift that allows one to not only share their point of view but also express how they feel towards certain topics. I would say my two most influential artists are Elton John and David Bowie. Finally, as a 19 year old, my one goal in life is to be able to share my music with the entire world and win a Grammy!!!