Voiceover Artist | Producer | Fixer | Drone Pilot

Five Years In is the brainchild of Canadian born guitarist and singer-songwriter Dave Collins - a man whose diverse musical experiences over the years and formal musical education at the prestigious McGill University in Montreal, Canada has led him to his deep passion for creating, performing and recording his own Indie Folk music.
 
With the release of his first EP, titled If Now Was Then, Collins credits such greats as Nick Drake, Jim Croce and the ‘folky side of Jimmy Page’ as influencing his eventual guitar and songwriting style and says, “It was extremely important to me that we took a simple, honest and sincere approach to recording this album. The very personal subject matter needed to be presented in manner free from complicated production methods yet sonically drenched with rich high fidelity recording quality. Sparse and selective instrumentation, lots of room to breathe and, if I got it right, an uncomfortable sense that I left my heart open to a room full of strangers.”
 
Certainly, it seems fair to say that Collins has done just that with this maiden project. The four song EP takes the listener on a journey through his past, offering a glimpse into his personal experience, lingering on sometimes painful emotions before capturing their memory in a song. The first track, Last Ditch Chance, is Exhibit A in this regard. The simplicity of the vocals, interlaced with an intricate guitar fingerstyle pattern, is playfully accented with the introduction of violin, viola and cello, leaving the listener with no doubt of the intention of the music. Other songs on the EP, like the title track, If Now Was Then, followed by Goodbye Goodbye and The Ghost Behind Your Smile build on the stripped down, almost naked approach that Collins has taken by infusing warm percussive elements, a robust baseline and the full majestic complement of a string quartet, breathing deep life into the overall production.
 
If Now Was Then was written at both Collins’ residence and in the shade of his favorite writing spot, under a tree by the water’s edge on the East coast of Barbados. It was recorded in three short days at Mission Sounds Studio in Brooklyn, NY and produced by the legendary Mike Peden, who produced albums for the likes of David Bowie and Massive Attack, among others. Jack Daley (formally of Lenny Kravitz) and Aaron Comess (drummer from The Spin Doctors) added their expertise to the mix, resulting in an all-star collaboration and a recording any artist would be proud of, and any listener of the genre would love.

User 101692992 is following