Paul Michell

Paul Michell is a singer/songwriter hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Paul grew up in a "pretty strict" Baptist household. "I remember some gospel records that were too 'scandalous' in my house because my parents didn't really approve of the urban beats. I was technically only allowed to listen to music that was sold from a Christian bookstore, and even some of those bands or artists were kind of considered a little too 'rock and roll'," he laughs.

Once Paul entered high school, he started listening to artists that were considered "secular" such as Damien Rice, Tori Amos, Ben Folds, Carole King and Joni Mitchell. "I totally started tuning in and listening to music I knew my parents weren't going to approve of...all these artists had an incredibly emotive quality that I really wanted to emulate", he says. Paul considers some of them to be his biggest musical influences. It wasn't until Paul turned 18 that he started pursuing writing songs. He did what every other person does at that age- playing coffee shops, small venues, open mics and doing copious amounts of writing.

In 2012, Paul released his first record, Wake Me Up, produced by Cole Hooey. "I'm still proud of that record in a lot of ways...and it's easy to get hyper critical and stuff like that because I am an artist...and that's kind of what we do. I was starting to find my sound, but I don't think it was every fully evident on that record. Cole did a great job, but at that particular time, I was trying too hard to be something I fully wasn't...all I wanted to do was find MY sound." His sound: heartfelt piano pop songs, with hooks and a lot of heart in the vein of his contemporary influences like Sara Bareilles, OneRepublic, Brendan James,and Ben Folds.

In 2013, Paul worked with Producer Owen Sartori on Breathing Underwater. "It was such a delightful experience working with such a wonderful set of ears, that I decided to go back and work on a record with him." Instead of hiring Owen Sartori to produce Paul's latest effort, We Keep On Dreaming, Paul chose to hire Owen to TEACH him how to produce a record. "It was kind of a mind boggling experience. I played and programmed 95% of the record and sang every single vocal. I don't think I've ever sounded more like me and I don't think I've ever been happier with the results." Paul will be releasing his new album, We Keep On Dreaming, co-produced with Owen Sartori in the fall of 2014.