Mikal Blue Bio

After shaping the sound of many of today’s most compelling indie acts – artists like Five for Fighting, Augustana, Limousine, One Republic, The Daylights, Colbie Caillat, Drowning Pool and Gary Jules - producer Mikal Blue finally heeded their constant urging to put his talents to use on his own work. Last year, he took time off to write and record his debut album, Gold. Tackling themes of alienation, love, and redemption, Mikal stepped out of the shadows just long enough to reveal himself as a remarkable singer-songwriter, unafraid to have a little fun along the way.

While growing up in the UK, Blue’s love for the Beatles promptly turned into a full-fledged obsession with music. At seven years of age, he began attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts for 11 years, studying everything from classical composition to prose and Shakespearian acting, and even voice production. “At a very young age, I learned about breathing and how to get the notes out,” Mikal recalls. He also muses that the school’s elocution lessons softened his regional accent as well, drumming the “Newcastle out of him.”

By sixteen, he was already playing North London clubs and his band was the youngest ever to make the final four in the UK’s popular television show Band of the North. “Make no mistake,” he says, “the club circuit wasn’t quite as glamorous as you’d think.” It was certainly an eye-opening experience for an adolescent lad. “We were sharing bills with strippers in clubs on Sunday afternoons,” he laughs.

After high school, Mikal left England to busk around the world, taking him everywhere from the Greek Islands and Austrian Alps and finally to the US, where he decided to stay. Soon after arriving, he was tapped to write music for films including Adrian Lyne’s Lolita and the punk rock documentary Songs for Cassavetes. Immersed in the American music scene, Blue found himself spending his nights with the indie acts that played the Hollywood clubs and was asked to do pre-production work with Orange County punk stars The Offspring. To his surprise, he quickly became a highly-sought after record producer and decided to shelve his own ambitions.