Michael Schulte : Sounds From A Distant Land

I came across this curly haired singer/songwriter about a week ago. Looking around Youtube for covers of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time", I stumbled upon Michael. Needless to say, I liked what I heard and started roaming through his channel, which is full of musical treasures. I'm fairly certain he hails from Sweden, but I could be mistaken. His guitar playing is ever so soothing and his vocal technique is ever so warming. It seems that at the end of each sentence he utters, in each and every one of his covers, he holds the note just a little more to keep us hooked on that magical sound of his. Have a listen to his cover of "Time After Time".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KByAaxJ84VY

Absolutely stunning. Although quite different to Cyndi's scratchy and explosive voice, I warmed up to Michael's version very quickly. He brings a certain warm, deep sound to the song together with a boyish vibrato that gives him that incredibly touching sound. What strikes me is how quietly he seems to be playing the guitar which seems to sound as if it were being played by someone far in the distance. It could be due to the placement of the microphone, but it certainly gives the song a very emotional effect, that I like.

Amongst the many covers Michael has uploaded on his channel (which you should subscribe to: michaelschulte), he recently uploaded a cover of the Cranberries' "Zombie", that really caught my ear. Although I'm not a massive fan of the Cranberries, and wouldn't choose to listen to their stuff on a regular basis, Michael's simple cover blew me away. Once again, the guitar sounds as if it's coming from a distant land, with oddly loud rings at times. His vocals are absolutely perfect for the song. They seem to be in constant movement, with Michael's gentle control over them. There's a certain ying/yang about his whole sound that is just perfect for this song. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x54DUhDIElI

I hope you agree that his was a phenomenal cover! And now you've seen his very memorable curly hair, which was not featured in the previous video I brought up. Overall, Michael seems to have a very memorable presence in his style and his sound. I personally got a feel of Matthew Bellamy and Thom Yorke in that "Zombie" cover, but that's just me. 

And aside from his fabulous covers, Michael's got some great original music out there that you can buy or just listen to on Youtube. An original of his that I really appreciated is called "Thinking About You". It's a song with melodic ups and downs and a guitar line that is reminiscent of that early Dylan sound. But overall, it seems to be the kind of song that Damien Rice or even Jeff Buckley would do. I personally hope I get to hear Michael playing an electric guitar one of these days. I think a little "twang" would sound great against his very personal voice. Don't forget to check out his Facebook page for updates. Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm_onKcDf5Y

Alex Hamel