“Lively, heartfelt and dynamic,” is how Toronto country-pop act Jason Maxwell describes his personable yet relatable artistry. Listening to his latest single “For Now,” which unfolds as emotional yet unapologetic ode to an ex-girlfriend, these words seem apt for his intricate weave intimate vocals and vulnerable lyricism.
Written as a loving but bittersweet message to a relationship that fizzled out due to circumstances, “For Now,” is relatable to anyone who has wanted to rekindle a flame that’s long been snuffed out.
Explaining the inspiration behind the country-pop anthem, Maxwell explains: “The song was inspired by a past relationship that ultimately failed – very much a case of ‘right girl, wrong time’. A year or so after our relationship ended, I noticed she had moved on to someone new and my initial reaction was to immediately question whether her new relationship was as serious or meaningful as her previous relationship with myself.”
The guitar-led track unveils his ability to lay out complicated personal feelings in a way that still relates to people listening. This song writing approach of drawing from the innermost crevices of his own experiences is what he excels at in his own words.
He says, “When I’m personally inspired or connected to a song idea, that’s when I write at my best. In that sense I don’t think I could write songs for other artists because I struggle when it comes to writing about topics I’m not familiar with or connected to in any personal manner.”
Speaking of song writing, he reveals that while turning his thoughts and experiences into lyrics is one of his favorite parts of the music making process, another aspect has his heart – the process of recording the demos in pre-production.
“Taking just a vocal and a guitar and turning it into a produced demo is where all the creative magic happens and that’s the part I find most enjoyable when bringing a song to life,” he explains, “The whole shaping of the song from just a vocal and a guitar to the finished demo is what makes every artist unique and shapes their sound.”
“It would be amazing if an artist with a non-traditionally Country background stumbled across my profile and became inspired to become a Country artist themselves because they see me pursuing it too and they think “if he’s doing it, I can too.”
On his own sound, he traces his evolution thus far, going from an early teen pop-esque country soundscape with raw songwriting and vocals, but clumsy execution to a more polished, story-first approach which elevates his country-pop musicality.
While on the topic of country-pop, it would amiss not to mention Maxwell’s cultural background, which he says not many people ask him about. Coming from a mixed background, with his father’s side hailing from Europe and his mother’s side originating from Philippines, he explains, “ From a visual standpoint I certainly standout in comparison to the overwhelming majority of the Country music scene – I look more like my mom’s side but with my dad’s features,” adding that it would be great if he could inspire more multicultural visibility in the country music scene.
“It would be amazing if an artist with a non-traditionally Country background stumbled across my profile and became inspired to become a Country artist themselves because they see me pursuing it too and they think “if he’s doing it, I can too.”
As much he could be an inspiration to other rising musicians, Maxwell himself is constantly evolving and growing.
Asked where he sees his sound going from here, he says, “I can see my sound going in a more acoustic, traditional country instrumentation focused route and I can also see my sound straying a few steps further into the pop world at times – for me it ultimately depends on the type and style of song,” adding that his priority will always be to find “perfect sonic cohesion,” where every element of his artistry moves in tandem.
Maxwell has honed his country-pop style and has aspirations to continue doing so, however he is not shutting out the notions of experimentation. Thinking about what genres he’d be keen to experiment with, he says that though folk would be the most natural next step, he’s “been told I have a good sense of cadence for Hip-Hop/Rap,” and that “R&B would be cool.”
But music is not the only creative avenue he’s managed to find his way into, being part of Netflix movie Full Out 2, in which he also got to perform his song “Girls Like to Dance.” Recalling his experience, “I got to play electric guitar in the movie. I always play acoustic guitar so I had spent an entire month learning the electric guitar parts from the song note for note so that I could perform it in the movie naturally.
Besides having a full choreography with backup dancers for his performance in the movie, the experience was topped off when he appeared on the thumbnail of the movie on Netflix. He exclaims, “As a cameo performer I wasn’t exactly playing a central character role in the movie. At first I honestly thought they were playing a prank on me and that they had just edited the picture so you can imagine how shocked I was when I found out it was real.”
His experience on Full Out 2 seems to have awakened a passion for acting in Maxwell, who says,” I think I could definitely get more involved with acting down the line – when I was younger I was on a children’s TV show called Ricky’s/Rudy’s Room which was kind of like Barney. I also tend to act in a lot of my online content skits so I’ve been indirectly honing my acting skills for quite some time now. I feel like there are a lot of crossover commonalities between acting on a TV/movie set and performing on stage/interacting with a crowd.”
Getting involved with Full Out 2 was a surreal experience for Maxwell, but it’s only one of many moments he holds close to his heart. From the first time he performed on stage to the first time he heard his own music on the radio, everything is precious to the promising talent – but one moment stands out.
Recounting the best moment of his career so far, he says, “My most surreal moment has been getting added to editorial playlists on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music. The recognition itself is incredibly humbling and seeing my name and my songs next to some of the biggest names in the industry on editorial playlists is one of the coolest feelings.”
He adds that it’s not because of the external validation, but more about his self-worth – it feels like “hey you DO belong at this level, you CAN do this at this level.” And with the strength of his straight-from-the-heart musicality, this levels for this emerging talent are surely sky high.
