M U S I K A N T O

VIDEO:
"Every Which Way"

VIDEO:
"Blues For Momma"

MUSIKANTO walks the line between Indie-Blues and Urban Americana, while borrowing elements of Experimental Folk and Broken-down Orchestral music.
Growing up listening to his father's obscure folk & roots records he was taught music through the likes of Fraser and Debolt and Jerry Hahn.
With heartbreaking ballads and melodic melodrama, Musikanto's songs have the grind of a Chicago winter and the soul of a Midwestern bon-fire.. it’s as sincere as it gets.

With an honest comparison, MUSIKANTO carries the lyrical weight of folks like Leonard Cohen, the back road sense of Leon Russelland the driving tone of Ray Lamontagne or Amos Lee. His narratives rattle the core of the human spirit leaving you feeling like an outsider who witnessed something very real.

After years of touring and writing, Musikanto set out to record his best record to date. Making countless drives from Chicago to Wisconsin and back, where he wrote and recorded at friend’s house, he found the solitude of the drives peaceful and a perfect canvas for re-writing lyrics and peicing together instrumentation he heard in his head as he drove. These late night and early morning drives helped the songs evolved and gradually became unchangeable.

Every song has its own intrinsic ambiance, the vocals are transparent and there is very little overdubbing. An extremely personal and deep album.
It’s a first person narrative where Musikanto pours his heart and soul, then it’s perfectly quiet as he waits for his answers.

CURRENT PRESS

Chicago Magazine
"Chicago Music acts to watch you can say you knew them when" 

For any budding musician, March is synonymous with South by Southwest. At the annual music festival in Austin, Texas, bands, labels, agents, and talent bookers convene to size one another up—in other words, it’s a highly competitive gig. One of the first acts to be officially announced for 2012 was the Chicago folk troubadour Mike Musikanto, or simply Musikanto. His latest album, Sky of Dresses, released last year by the local Grape Juice Records, earned positive reviews from the likes of NPR and Paste for its soulful reflection on traditional Americana—a style the singer-songwriter adopted after studying painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

PASTE MAGAZINE
Album Review & Stream “Sky Of Dresses”
“There’s an influx of bands struggling to imprint themselves on the modern folk movement. Chicago’s Mike Musikanto has figured out the key—sincerity.
When a song sounds authentic, it doesn’t matter what label you tack on it, people will take notice..”
- Alexandra Fletcher :: Paste Magazine-

American Songwriter Magazine
Premiering the new MUSIKANTO Single
"Take What You Need"
 

CMJ August Free Play Compilation
CMJ FreePlay Monthly Music Sampler
 

WXRT Radio CHICAGO
XRT: Daily Featured Download

We Are Hunted
Free Download & Featured Artist
*61,299 Unique Listens & 192 Downloads to date

NO DEPRESSION
No Depression Featured Artist

PASTE MAGAZINE
Video Premiere: “Every Which Way”

THE CHICAGOIST
Chicagoist Feature
"As with Musikanto’s debut album, the songs in Sky of Dresses rely heavily on the same elements - strummed acoustic guitar, piano, and Musikanto’s worn and soulful croon. But each song narrates a different story and maintains its own, distinct character. Take for instance, the “oh, my my” nonchalance of “Awful Mind” or the simplicity and sincerity of “Blues for Momma.” The result is an 11-song album that plays like a compilation of short stories about love and loss."

AUDIOTREE
AudioTree Session featuring MUSIKANTO

CHICAGO NOW
Chicago Now Article
"Everything enjoyable about Americana can be found within the tracks of "Sky Of Dresses".
I'm talking about the ability to tell a story through music; the well thought out arrangement of lyrics and instrumentation in such a way that you might recall
some of your own stories and get a bit nostalgic."

UR CHICAGO
UR Chicago - Live Show Review at The Hideout

Everything But URBAN
Video of the Day
MUSIKANTO !

MY OLD KENTUCKY BLOG
Mp3, Video & Feature
“Musikanto dropped into the Inbox this morning, and I’m damn glad he did. Stylistically, the Chicago neo-folkie straddles the fence between Ryan Adams and Mr. Dylan (perhaps John Wesley Harding-era). His newest release, Sky Of Dresses, is set to drop on August 2nd via Grape Juice Records, and based on stellar lead single,
"Every Which Way", it’s going to make some folk/americana fans somewhere, very happy.”

FUSE TV
FUSE TV Article

AUSTIN TOWN HALL
"Every Which Way" Mp3 & Featured Artist
"Recently I’ve been introduced to Musikanto, a Chicago songwriter who will likely be making a name for himself all over the country soon. Press releases hint at Van Morrison and Ryan Adams connections, and I definitely see that there, but I also see little pieces of early Mason Jennings. It’s heartfelt and honest, and there’s a willingness to provide a good narrative, even from a first-person point of view. "

THE ROUND TABLE
"Every Which Way" included on Summer Mix
Round Table Summer Mix Compilation

Baeble Music
Video Post

Tonight We Dance Tomorrow We Cry
Interview & Album Review

"It's one of the best things I have heard all year"
- Matt Steadman, WMLB Radio (Atlanta) The Voice Of The Arts –