The musical evolution of Michael Paynter has been a series of obsessive love affairs. At the age of 7 it was the piano, at age 12 it was the guitar, and by the age of 15 he was crashing through a set of drums.
It's a natural progression that, at the age of 24, the Melbourne-born singer, lyricist, and multi-instrumentalist has harnessed his talents to release his debut EP Love The Fall.
Michael has travelled the globe four times in as many years, and written with the finest in his field, from Guy Chambers [Robbie Williams] and Adam Argyle [Newton Faulkner] in the UK, to Toby Gad [Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas] and David Ryan Harris [John Mayer] in the US.
Michael knuckled down in the US with famed producer Matt Wallace (Faith No More Maroon 5, Bic Runga) at Sound City Studios, where Fleetwood Mac, Nirvana, Johnny Cash and Tom Petty cut their classic records.
Michael’s hard work paid off when his song Superheroes was chosen as the soundtrack for the hit television series Heroes.
After releasing two acclaimed singles, Michael explains, “I set about touring, travelling and assessing what kind of artist I wanted to be. I spent a lot of time recording, writing, learning and listening to a range of musicians from Muddy Waters, Son House, Eva Cassidy, Sam Cooke and Robert Johnson. In the last two years I set about developing every set of skills I could. I played guitar for hours and hours a day, and I performed hundreds of gigs – it’s just been the best time of growth for me.”
Apart from winning coveted support slots for Newton Faulkner, Vanessa Amorosi, and soul legend Seal, Michael’s personal highlight over the last couple of years have saw him performing at the emotional Bushfire Memorial Service with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and a 500 member choir.
Although much has been said about this multi instrumentalist and his 'big' voice, it seems to be the songs, his fine band and his honest and entertaining live shows that are ringing the 'loudest' bells this time around.
Michael has also embraced social media and the digital world with gusto, engaging with his army of followers on twitter regularly, and often uploading exclusive bonus content to his youtube and myspace accounts.
Michael is invigorated by living, breathing and immersing himself in music, and his new EP, available now on iTunes and instores, features the songs Are You Alive, as heard on Channel Seven’s promo for the final series of Lost, and Love The Fall, which features back up vocals from Michael’s good mates Lisa and Jess Origliasso. Michael explains, “I met Lisa and Jess when I performed at the ARIA #1’s in 2008. We caught up after the show and that day I made two of the most intensely loyal - albeit miniscule - friends for life. We ran into each other at various awards shows, and soon enough we were hanging out in LA when I was over there to write or record. They are the most genuine and musically gifted girls. We share such a musical affinity and definitely see the world the same way, so it is completely my honour to share my tune with them. They really bought it to life.” Love The Fall, whose spectacular video was shot in the Northern Californian forest is available now and can be viewed at www.youtube.com/michaelpayntertv.