Michael Jacob Rinzel

Michael Jacob Rinzel is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He first emerged with self-produced cassette releases as part of the bands Est X and Mushrooms in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he co-founded and co-wrote for the New York City group Poolsville. His first solo project, Miguel and the Ocean Swell, was released in 2021.

In 2020, Rinzel recorded Strange Times under the pseudonym Est X. In 2021, he revisited his archives, producing and mixing five digital albums of previously unreleased material from Poolsville’s 1990s recordings. That same year, he contributed both  to a reunion album by the renamed Just Mushrooms.

With the 2025 release of his solo project, Preserve Your Memories: A Simon & Garfunkel Journey, Rinzel ventures into new territory. Over 2024 and 2025, he recorded, arranged, and performed 32 Simon & Garfunkel songs, crafting a sound-collage experience that unfolds like a concept album.