Every song is a love song if you ask husband and wife duo David Ornelas and Megan Love of Hummingbird Hotel.
And it rings true for every song on their recently released self-titled, 11-track album—a sample of the couple’s love story that’s evolved in the last four and a half years.
Hummingbird Hotel’s album debuted Jan. 11 and features an eclectic mix of instruments that blend organic sound with digital across its tracks.
Instruments used include the dumbek, upright bass, cajón, violin, a variety of drums, the ukulele, electric guitar, shakers and melodica. But the couple also experimented with guitar cases to create a beat on tracks like On My Way.
The Chula Vista residents initially met nearly a decade ago when she opened up as a solo artist for his formed reggae group Stranger Band at Belly Up.
The lovebirds shacked up as a couple and paired musically in 2014 shortly after playing separate gigs the same night at the Solana Beach venue.
About a week later they wrote Can’t Say (the last track on the album) in one evening on the rooftop of Megan’s residence.
This is also where they settled on their name, which was inspired by an overpopulated honeysuckle bush.
“We used to joke, ‘That’s the hummingbird hotel, there’s no vacancy,’” Love said.
Ornelas said it had a better ring to it than Mockingbird Motel.
A few tracks including Leaving After Midnight, were done via Skype and inspired by physical separation while Ornelas was touring.
The couple, which married in August 2017, defines their music as indie, soul, pop and is encouraged by ‘70s music such as Jim Croce and Fleetwood Mac, as well as newer artists including Leon Bridges and Chris Stapleton.
The goal for the album: For listeners to feel uplifted by the songs.
“I hope the album puts people in a place of inspiration … if they’re not in a good place,” Love said.
Evoking that kind of positivity is a desire for herself as well.
In December 2015 Love began struggling with her voice following repeated sickness and it never fully recovered.
“When I would try to hit a pitch it wouldn’t be there, my voice would kind of drop out,” she said. “It became hoarse and scratchy.”
Six months later when she went to see an ear, nose and throat doctor she received a bleak diagnosis.
After researching her condition Love found a doctor in Japan to perform surgery on her vocal cords, but it did not restore her voice. Today, Love is healing with the use of thyroid and adrenal supplements.
Last year, her voice recovered enough to finish recording Hummingbird Hotel.
As far as a favorite song the couple likes the album’s first track, I Remember for its reminder to always fall back on who you are and feel comfortable with yourself no matter what.
But Love said her all-time favorite is Home, a song they finished while camping in Big Sur. Ornelas had begun writing the song more than a decade earlier and after sharing it with Love, a chorus emerged.
“I like to think that I wrote Home for her because when I was writing it I pictured myself going into a house with a fireplace and having kids and taking them to school…” Ornelas said.
Home is the song that received the most interest during a songwriting conference in Hawaii last July, after which they signed a publishing and sync licensing deal with Los Angeles based-Think Music.
