From The Artist : This song is inspired by a feeling or a circumstance many people have experienced. It’s about the moment of meeting someone and instantly feeling a connection to them. You feel drawn to them, you want to talk with them or spend time together, and they end up taking up more and more of your mental space. However, this connection is still new, and you don’t know what point they are at. Do they feel the same way? Are they obsessing over you like you are over them, or are you just a passing thought? The song was initially built around the lines of the final chorus and that sense of insecurity. “Do you stay up at night and think about me? Do you toss and you turn ‘cause you can’t fall asleep?” Those questions come because that’s how you feel, that’s what you are currently experiencing, but do they feel it too? To turn it into a duet, we wanted to create a story where both people feel the connection, but neither of them is bold enough to let the other know. Both wonder if this connection is a hopeless endeavour or something greater. The song ends and we still don’t actually have an answer. We’d like to think that it ends happily and they both figure it out, but we liked the idea of ending the song with that sense of wonder and anticipation instead of a closed-off, final answer. We tried a different approach in the recording studio than our previous tracks. We felt like the focus of the song is that it’s a duet, there are two characters trying to understand their individual feelings at the same time. Because of this, we wanted to record our vocals at the same time. We talked to our recording engineer, Robbie Townsend, and found a way to have us each in isolated booths with layers of glass in the middle so we could still see each other. It was definitely a feat to get this working and to get two isolated tracks recorded at the same time in a small space, but we made it work. We then recorded full run-throughs of the song. In the past, we would record sections at a time, but we both like the emotional impact was far greater for this song if we did it all in one take. It definitely added pressure, but more importantly, it allowed us to feel and react to one another in real-time. In the end, it gave the track an intimate and organic feel, and we plan on recording like this more often in the future.
Drawing influence from pop, soul, and electronic music, the Edmonton-based duo X62 (ten-sixty-two) seamlessly blends together elements of each genre to create musically versatile and lyrically compelling songs. Consisting of Joel Toews and Sauvé (so-vay), X62 is influenced by Sam Smith, Emeli Sandé, Brasstracks and NEEDTOBREATHE. Their gospel tinged optimistic sound is emphasized by big backing vocals, dynamic horn lines and emotional complexity. Their lyrics toe the line between deeply personal and profoundly universal, inclining audiences to engage with both the duo’s live and recorded performances.
X62’s newest single, “Hopelessly Hoping,” will be released in November 2020. In contrast to their previous singles, “Hopelessly Hoping” highlights the influence singer-songwriter music has had on the duo. “I love how the choir came through on this song,” says Sauvé. “I can feel them right in the room with me, and I love that!”
““Hopelessly Hoping” captures that thrilling and terrifying period when you’ve fallen for someone, but don’t yet know if they feel the same,” says Joel. “It’s about the nights you spend lying in bed picturing your life with this person, desperately hoping they feel the same, knowing full well you can’t force someone else’s emotions.”
Additional production for the single was provided by Daniel Adams (Juno Award Winner Kellie Loder). “Hopelessly Hoping” is the duo’s fifth single. Their previous singles, “Nobody” (2020) “Love Me Still” (2019) and “DOWN” (2018), gained X62 radio airplay on Mix107.9 (Ft. Saskatchewan, AB) and 102.3 NOW Radio (Edmonton, AB).
With an energizing and dynamic stage presence, the band toured in Ontario, CA in August 2019, performing at the Play the Parks Summer Festival (Toronto). In April 2018, X62 placed first in the Students’ Association of MacEwan University showdown competition, leading to performances at the Kaleido Festival (Edmonton, AB, 2018) and MacEwan Fall Fest (Edmonton, AB, 2018). On top of writing and producing their own music, both Joel and Sauvé work as freelance composers for orchestra (Orchestra Borealis, University Symphony Orchestra), choir (Kokopelli Choir Association, Nuf Sed), film and theatre (“One Voice” & “The Ballad of Peachtree Rose”).
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