Japan-born, Canada-raised artist Justin Maki returns with “Old School Heart,” a moody, groove-forward R&B/pop-rock single that confronts unrequited love and emotional ambiguity head-on. Dark, passionate, and deeply self-assured, the track finds the FCLMA–winning singer-songwriter drawing a clear line in the sand, demanding commitment in a dating culture increasingly defined by non-answers and half-measures.

“I was on my first writing trip in Nashville when I accidentally encountered a new posse of friends at a networking bar called Red Barn,” Maki recalls. After a few drinks and a spontaneous suggestion to write together, Maki linked up with Laura Ann Short and Steven Martin, booking a session just days later at Round Hill Music. “I started jamming out to a sample drum loop that made my head bop. I then came up with this John Mayer-esque riff and after some more time of refining the musical idea, I recorded the guitar. That became the foundation of our creation.”

What emerged was a familiar story with a sharper edge: unrequited love paired with a bold demand for clarity. “‘Old School Heart’ is my way of speaking up,” Maki states. “Of asking for the commitment that I seek, of expressing my values, and of asserting my value.”

The name “Old School Heart” came later, following collaboration with JUNO Award–winning production duo VAŪLTS (David Mohacsi and Maïa Davies), who produced Maki’s forthcoming record. “The song’s original iteration was ‘My Damn Heart,’” he explains. “David and Maïa loved the song but felt the title could be stronger, more evocative, more visual, and that the message could be delivered more gently without losing its weight.”

The revised title reframed the song’s core truth. “The reason I long for commitment is because I’m an old soul,” Maki says plainly. “There’s nothing cryptic about the message. The song just says it like it is.”