{"title":"Spencer Cullum","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpencer Cullum is a pedal steel guitarist hailing from London, England. With his incredible talent and unique sound, he has become a sought-after musician in the music industry. Currently based in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, Spencer has made a name for himself as one of the best in the business. His mastery of the pedal steel guitar brings a distinctive element to any musical project he is involved in. Whether performing live or recording in the studio, Spencer's skills are unmatched and his contributions are invaluable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving grown up surrounded by music, it was no surprise that Spencer found his passion for playing instruments at an early age. He quickly developed a love for the pedal steel guitar and dedicated himself to mastering this complex instrument. Over the years, he has honed his craft and expanded his musical repertoire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpencer's journey has taken him across continents as he pursued opportunities to collaborate with renowned artists from various genres. From country to rock to folk, he seamlessly blends into any musical landscape with ease and precision. His ability to evoke emotion through his playing sets him apart from other musicians.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"spencer-cullums-coin-collection","title":"Spencer Cullums Coin Collection","description":"\u003cp\u003eWith an arm’s length list of credits stretching from the likes of Kesha, Dolly Parton and Deer Tick, to Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town, pedal steel savant Spencer Cullum is one of Nashville’s most in-demand session cats. That’s in addition to making up half of acclaimed, primarily instrumental space-country duo “Steelism.” Clearly he’s had little trouble fitting in since moving from his native London to Music City by way of Detroit eight years ago, even if it’s mostly meant blending into the background. “I guess I’ve always hidden behind [the instrument],” he deadpans. “I’m always the guy who looks like he’s studying for a test in the background.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow, with a debut solo album, \u003ci\u003eSpencer Cullum’s Coin Collection\u003c\/i\u003e, paying homage to the ’60s and ‘70s psych-pop, folk and proto prog heroes of his homeland, this Nashville sideman’s stepping out from the shadows into the spotlight. Along with 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 like Caitlin Rose, Andrew Combs, Erin Rae, Annie Williams and James “Skyway Man” Wallace — he’s bringing a bit of Britain to Tennessee.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I wanted to write a very quintessential English folk record, but with really good Nashville players.” Cullum says of Canterbury Scene conjuring Coin Collection. Cuts like glass-lake-placid album opener “Jack of Fools”, “Seaside” and the dreamlike “The Dusty Floor,” recall the prime work of the influences he name-checks: Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt, Fairport Convention and Sandy Denny. Beyond that, the album manifests his love for psych-prog ground-breakers the Soft Machine (“Tombre En Morceaux”), digs deep into cerebral ambient inspirations like Robert Fripp and Brian Eno (“My Protector”) and krautrock icons NEU! (“Dietrich Buxtehude”) – references he’d previously explored with Steelism. “I’ve always wanted to mix krautrock music into folk and psychedelic,” he explains.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Full Time Hobby","offers":[{"title":"Green | LP","offer_id":50390484812107,"sku":"1123319","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50390485991755,"sku":"1152627","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Clear | LP","offer_id":50390486974795,"sku":"1123317","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50390485401931,"sku":"1123318","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/a56c6f19-93a0-4f2f-8215-3fa7ea39c16b_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726391403"},{"product_id":"spencer-cullum-coin-collection-2","title":"Spencer Cullum Coin Collection 2","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpencer Cullum\u003c\/strong\u003e’s \u003cem\u003eCoin Collection 2\u003c\/em\u003e sees the Nashville-based musician step further from the pedal steel and towards center stage. Released on the evergreen Full Time Hobby label, this new collection of tracks is a kaleidoscopic collection of folk, jazz, and pop, cut through with immaculately-rendered songwriting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRomford to Nashville is hardly the most well-trodden of paths, but for \u003cstrong\u003eSpencer Cullum\u003c\/strong\u003e it was a way of getting to the essential heart of pedal steel, what was then and remains to this day his musical raison d'être. Growing up in the large East London town brought him early exposure to classic pub rock by way of his father such as Dr. Feelgood and Thin Lizzy, and farther-flung music by way of his mother, such as Talking Heads and Lou Reed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, it was learning pedal steel from legendary English player B. J. Cole that set him on the path he still walks today. After touring with Nashville-based groups and hearing tales of “seasoned Nashville steel players”, the young musician upped sticks and found a “nice little crowd of weirdos” in his chosen city.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCullum\u003c\/strong\u003e has always maintained a somewhat silent presence - even now saying “I still want to hide behind my pedal steel in fear” - but 2020 saw him release his debut solo effort, \u003cem\u003eSpencer Cullum’s Coin Collection\u003c\/em\u003e. Despite his project with Jeremy Fetzer, Steelism, showing off more of his talents, never before had he felt the limelight so firmly on him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough \u003cem\u003e…Coin Collection\u003c\/em\u003e’s modus operandi was “a very quintessential English folk record, but with really good Nashville players”, \u003cstrong\u003eCullum\u003c\/strong\u003e says of \u003cem\u003e…Coin Collection 2\u003c\/em\u003e that “I wanted to be different. I wanted to try and pull away from wearing my influences on my sleeve… I was trying to pick out ideas that were new to me. You can never escape your musical influences but I wanted them to be more hidden sub-consciously than upfront.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThough you can pick out the odd similarity to other things here and there - \u003cem\u003eThe Beach Boys\u003c\/em\u003e’ \u003cem\u003eFriends\u003c\/em\u003e LP, perhaps, or \u003cem\u003eThe Incredible String Band\u003c\/em\u003e, or \u003cem\u003eJoni Mitchell\u003c\/em\u003e - the thing is decidedly \u003cstrong\u003eCullum\u003c\/strong\u003e’s own. What’s also reassuring is that there hasn’t been some giant sonic leap from \u003cem\u003e…Coin Collection\u003c\/em\u003e, rather that the beautifully sun-kissed, English country garden, bees-buzzing-round-lager atmosphere has remained, but complicated, weirded, deepened.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMuch in the same way that the album doesn’t wear its influences (\u003cem\u003eAmon Duul II\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSkip Spence\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eEnnio Morricone\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eChu Kosaka\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eMichael Chapman\u003c\/em\u003e) lightly but rather is steeped in them and toys with them, \u003cstrong\u003eCullum\u003c\/strong\u003e brought in a host of guests to turn \u003cem\u003e…Coin Collection 2\u003c\/em\u003e loose from being a purely solo effort.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYuma Abe\u003c\/strong\u003e provides fractured, low-register chorus vocals that accentuate the ever-so-slightly mournful air to ‘\u003cem\u003eKingdom Weather\u003c\/em\u003e’, released today as a single, while \u003cstrong\u003eDana Gavanski\u003c\/strong\u003e provides beautiful harmony lines in ‘\u003cem\u003eWhat A Waste Of An Echo\u003c\/em\u003e’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDespite the number of collaborators and players (also including \u003cstrong\u003eRich Ruth\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eErin Rae\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003eCaitlin Rose\u003c\/strong\u003e) things never seem too crowded or brimming with too many ideas. Instead \u003cstrong\u003eCullum\u003c\/strong\u003e marshalls each moving party expertly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIndeed, due to \u003cstrong\u003eCullum\u003c\/strong\u003e’s languid Romford burr (pitched somewhere between \u003cem\u003eRobert Wyatt\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eRay Davies\u003c\/em\u003e), it only becomes clear when listening closely that some of the lyrics deal with weighty themes like dementia and violence. \u003cstrong\u003eCullum\u003c\/strong\u003e says that “I sat for a long time with the songs and wanted to find my own identity”, and \u003cem\u003e…Coin Collection 2\u003c\/em\u003e suggests you do the same.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the same way that \u003cstrong\u003eCullum\u003c\/strong\u003e provides the pedal steel undertow of many huge artists’ music - \u003cem\u003eKesha\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLambchop\u003c\/em\u003e, and more recently \u003cem\u003eAngel Olsen\u003c\/em\u003e - the genius in \u003cem\u003e…Coin Collection 2\u003c\/em\u003e is in its subtlety, in what it murmurs rather than shouts.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Full Time Hobby","offers":[{"title":"Gold | LP","offer_id":50402202353995,"sku":"2001468","price":21.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50402202124619,"sku":"2001466","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50402202222923,"sku":"2001467","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Spencer_Cullums_Coin_Collection_2_d82c19bd_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726535429"},{"product_id":"spencer-cullum-coin-collection-3","title":"Spencer Cullum Coin Collection 3","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCoin Collection 3 \u003c\/em\u003eis the concluding album in Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection trilogy (2021, 2023) - a series that has defined his solo career, born from a need for connection to the place Cullum is from and the influences that shaped who he is today; just as much a platform for his talented circle as it is for his own genius. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA kaleidoscopic collection of folk, jazz and pop, \u003cem\u003eCoin Collection 3\u003c\/em\u003e was made up of reel to reel field recordings, iPhone voice notes and rough studio takes taken around the world, and all put together to cassette tape from the comfort of his purpose-built garden shed. It features collaborations with Erin Rae, Rich Ruth, Oisin Leech, Hollow Hand and more.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAs a way to make sense of everything from the climate crisis to late-stage capitalism, the musician turned to the folklore of his native England. He found comfort – even answers – in the occult-tinged tales of ancient relics and midnight rites rather than in the extreme Christian views that tend to warp his adopted home in the American South. “I felt more settled in that,” he says of the folk narratives that have found their way into his music today. “I love reading about standing stones and old folk stories about how men would get enticed into the woods and murdered by some sort of witch. I love that, it's brilliant.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eGrounded in a reverence for, and an almost fear of, nature, these stories gifted Cullum an outlet through which to voice his frustration with the modern world and craft a more just plane beyond the here and now. Several of the album’s offerings, such as “Gavon’s Eve” and “Old Paul Hill,” are written through this folk lens where nature prevails over the evils of humankind. As he puts it: “I made my own A24 horror film.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor fans of \u003cspan style=\"caret-color: rgb(36, 36, 36); color: rgb(36, 36, 36); font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.666666984558105px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; display: inline !important; float: none;\"\u003eKevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt, Nick Drake, Jeffrey Silverstein, Ted Lucas\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Full Time Hobby","offers":[{"title":"LP - Orange","offer_id":56304170434891,"sku":"R0766-3431","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":56304170467659,"sku":"R0766-4931","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/wTgHwqPU.jpg?v=1768412030"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_e07cadae_thumbnail_4096_7e484e6d-a5ea-4f70-85ed-e67d5b9af74b.jpg?v=1726391355","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/spencer-cullum.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}