With a stunning list of credits that covers pop, country, rock, and everything in between, Spencer Cullum is one of Nashville’s most in-demand session cats. He has worked with Kesha, Dolly Parton and Deer Tick, among many others, while also making up half of primarily instrumental space-country duo "Steelism."
Debut solo album "Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection" pays homage to the ’60s and ‘70s psych-pop, folk and proto prog heroes of his homeland. This album will be released September 24th via Full Time Hobby and includes a supporting cast of fellow Music City stage and studio aces like guitarist Sean Thompson and multi-instrumentalist Luke Reynolds, as well as singing and writing partners Caitlin Rose, Andrew Combs, Erin Rae, Annie Williams and James “Skyway Man” Wallace.
Cullum presents a breathtaking debut that rings a few bells at once by touching on the psychedelic jazz-folk bona fides of fellow British reclusive songwriter Kevin Ayers while also blending in elements of krautrock. As it turns out, it was the prominence of pedal steel on classic English rock albums that brought the instrument to a young Cullum's attention. In fact, the man who taught him to play was the master steel player on those very recordings. Multi-genre stylist and session man B.J. Cole recorded with a staggering range of diverse artists including Elton John, Sting and John Cale, to Beck and Björk. Spencer Cullum brings his own versatility and eclectic creativity to the legacy of artists like Soft Machine and Fairport Convention. Of course, with Cullum handling lead vocals duties, he was left with little room to show off any pedal steel mastery. With a thick East London accent what comes across is an authentic and personal projection of his own musical odyssey — one that has taken him from London, to Detroit, and now to Nashville. "Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection" offers an exceptional array of stylistic touchpoints that come together in a shimmering set of songs that somehow manage to be both utterly unique and fashionably retro.
