"There was a lot of pressure."
“I heard [Michael’s 2011 debut single] Tell Me A Tale on YouTube, I thought it was an old song or something. Then my friend Dan [Auerbach, Black Keys] sent me a copy, and I got excited because I realised he was somebody new. It had everything: I loved the voice, the melodies, the music, and Paul Butler’s production was great. There was just something about it: it wasn’t kitschy, it wasn’t just retro. After I hadn’t heard about him for a couple of years, I reached out. I thought maybe we could do something together. When we started making music in LA, I said, I work differently to everyone else, I just need you to go with it. After the first song we did together, Falling, he started to open up about what he was going through, the position he was in. Often artists feel if what they want to do doesn’t serve other interests, they aren’t going to get support to do it. That’s where Michael was at. There was a lot of pressure on him. I tried to remind him to get back to pleasing himself, and worry about what will happen afterwards. He played me a bunch of things he had, which didn’t make it to the album. Then he played me Black Man…, and I said, This is where you need to start from. It’s great, it’s bold, it’s different. It sounded more like him. I was surprised – but not that surprised – that he wasn’t getting label support on it. Sometimes you have to fight to get to do what you want to do. I wanted him to feel there was a team behind him. He’s a solo artist, he isn’t in a band, it’s a tougher situation. The moment we finished Cold Little Heart, there was no way it wasn’t going to open the album. Everybody knows about Michael’s voice – but he’s also an amazing guitar player and songwriter. I said, The first song you release off this album should be an instrumental. We didn’t do that, but this is the next best thing: opening it with a song where he doesn’t sing in the first five minutes, but it’s still all Michael, his melodies and his beautiful guitar-playing. Hopefully it’s just the beginning of a lot of different things that are going to come, because he can do so much. He can express himself through his voice, but also through his guitar, and it’s rare that people can do both. He’s already matured a lot, and his career will be a great thing to watch or be a part of. This is the kind of album I’ve always wanted to make. That’s not a hyperbolic thing. It’s Michael’s record, but as a producer I couldn’t have done it without InFlo, he’s equally a part of it. It shouldn’t be lost on anyone how much of an influence he had on the record.”