Singer-songwriter Mike Palframan PE's musical secret

Singer-songwriter Mike Palframan must surely be Port Elizabeth’s best-kept musical secret, writes Louise Liebenberg.

This breakout talent has quietly released an impressive debut album and made it through to the semi-finals of an international songwriting competition that received about 16,000 entries.

We find out what the future holds for this promising artist who, incredibly, only picked up a guitar for the first time three years ago and is juggling music with a full-time corporate career.

• How old are you and do tell us about your Eastern Cape roots?

I’ll be 50 next year and was raised in the wonderful community that was King William’s Town in the '70s and '80s. I attended varsity in Port Elizabeth, where I completed a BCom before joining the corporate world.

• How did your love of music start?

I come from a very musical background; my mom and sister played piano and my brothers and I all sang in the choir at junior school. We also played all the sports under the sun, so the singing was recreational.

My dad has sung the memorial song at the Dale Reunion for more than 35 years, so singing has always been in the blood, but I needed to learn an instrument to unlock my passion for song-writing.

I was challenged by a varsity mate to sing my own songs when he saw a YouTube clip of a tribute song I did to Leonard Cohen when he passed away. It started my song-writing career.

• You took up the guitar in June 2015. What took you so long?

I’ve always loved singing, so my voice has always been my first instrument. I now have a guitar tutor once a week as there is so much to learn.

• Now that your name is getting out there as a musician, will you continue your corporate career?

I’m a corporate banker in commercial property. It’s been a 27-year career which I plan to continue.

• Do you intend to perform publicly?

For now I continue to write songs and have written 40 in 12 months. So far I have only performed privately but that will change soon enough.

• How do you describe your sound?

If you enjoy interesting lyrics and like variations in every song, my CD Out the Door provides that. It’s easy listening.

• How long have you been songwriting and who are your influences?

I completed my first song in February last year2017, and it opened a well of song-writing that can’t wait to come out.

I believe this is a gifting that I have only recently discovered and who knows where it could take me.

Being a big Bob Dylan, Rodriguez, Dire Straits and the Waterboys fan I’m told you can hear their influence, although I’ve also been told the track Out the Door sounds 100% like the Beatles!

• Tell us about your album?

It’s an 11-track album and all original music, with. What I like most is that each track different in theme and sound. It was produced in Joe’s Garage (Joe van der Linden) by Stephen Hurter, Duncan Ebedes and myself, with some great session musicians in the mix too.

We did a pre-release to friends and family in December , and it is now on iTunes/Apple Music, GooglePlay, Deezer, Spotify and cdbaby.

• How long did you work on it?

I started last year without a single song written and no inclination or thought of producing or recording an album, and ended 2017 with a completed debut album.

So far it has been very well received especially in the 20 to 30 and the 40 to 50 age groups, and what excites me most is that so many different people have different favourites of the 11 tracks.

• Any titles that are particularly meaningful to you?

Simple Jane is about my wife, Jackie, who is anything but simple. Old Man is about an old man I used to see by the side of the road in Westview Drive – it’s the first song I ever wrote.

• Tell us about the international songwriting competition? Have you heard back about your entry, ‘Those Times?’

It’s based in Nashville and is the biggest songwriters’ competition in the world, with judges like Tom Waits and Ziggy Marley.

They get more than 16,000 entries from around the world and they cull 90%. I made the semis but heard last week I hadn’t progressed to the final 10 in my genre.

• How do you hope to inspire others?

I hope the late start for me will inspire others to believe it is never too late to start doing something you have always wanted to.