Biography
Born in Peterborough, Ontario, Michael Kulas had already taken part in assorted independent efforts before issuing his first solo album, Mosquito, through 1A Records in 1995. On that record he supplied every vocal, guitar, piano, E-Bow, and bass part himself, yet the decision to bring in mutual acquaintance Saul Davies as drummer and producer marked a decisive career step. A longtime member of the British group James, Davies was sufficiently impressed by Kulas’s work that, the following year, he put the Canadian forward for sessions on Tim Booth’s solo project Booth & the Bad Angel. Those sessions quickly opened further doors: James first invited Kulas onstage for a trial stint providing vocals and percussion during the spring 1997 Whiplash tour, then made the arrangement permanent once the twelve-month trial concluded. Brian Eno, after hearing the textures Kulas added, urged the band not to release him, and the members followed that counsel. Kulas’s singing ultimately gave James a richer, more intimate character, evident on B-sides such as “Pocketful of Lemons” and on the 1999 album Millionaires. In 2001, only months ahead of the band’s eleventh record Pleased to Meet You, he completed a second solo set, Another Small Machine, intended for close associates.
Albums
