Description

London-born, Nashville-based Spencer Cullum?s debut solo album, Spencer Cullum?s Coin Collection, may pay homage to the 1960s and 1970s psych-pop, folk and proto-prog heroes of his homeland. But 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.

?I wanted to write a very quintessential English folk record, but with really good Nashville players,? Cullum says of Canterbury Scene conjuring Coin Collection, name-checking Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt, Fairport Convention and Sandy Denny. The album manifests his love for psych-prog ground-breakers the Soft Machine, digs deep into cerebral ambient inspirations like Robert Fripp and Brian Eno and even krautrock icons NEU! ?I?ve always wanted to mix krautrock music into folk and psychedelia,? he explains.

With an arm?s length list of credits stretching from the likes of Kesha, Dolly Parton and Deer Tick, to Miranda Lambert and Dylan Leblanc, pedal steel savant 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 by way of Detroit eight years ago, even if it?s mostly meant blending in. ?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.?

Produced by Jeremy Ferguson and recorded at the Grammy-winning Nashville indie-rock producer?s Battle Tapes Recording studio, the album boasts a wide-open, bell-clear sound fit for a deftly shimmering set of songs with non-narrative lyrics culled from the mystic corners of the subliminal mind. The lyrics come from ?my own experience,? Cullum explains, ?but [I] also wanted to not be emotionally specific, almost in a dreamlike, subconscious state. Like spidergram.?

Though on the new single Imminent Shadow, Cullum reveals a little more of himself: ?I wrote Imminent Shadow when I was having lucid dreams a few years ago and pondering if it had something to do with hereditary depression stemming from my grandfather. I?ve never wanted my songs to be too personal of my own situation but instead for them to have a sub-conscious dream-like aspect to them. This, I guess, is the most personal track on the record.?

Spencer will be accompanied on the night by Sean Thompson. Born and raised in Nashville, Thompson cut his teeth playing in a slew of projects around the city?s rock, folk, and experimental scenes both as creative collaborator and session player. Taking equal inspiration from the improvisational grooves of the Grateful Dead as well as the craft of songwriters like JJ Cale and Joni Mitchell, Thompson?s songwriting debut marks the arrival of a unique voice grounded by wide-reaching, generous ears.

Description

Located on Oldham Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, Gullivers is an iconic, lively and bustling bar with a long history dating all the way back to 1865.
Gullivers has had many different guises over the years. It was originally a Wilson’s house called The Albert Hotel, then The Grenadier before J.W. Lees brewery bought the pub in the 1970s. They renamed it Gullivers and it has existed in its current form to this day.
But there’s much more to Gullivers than just the busy bar; it also houses two distinct yet complementary live music and performance spaces; the upstairs Ballroom – a 100 capacity gig venue with a raised stage and the downstairs Lounge – an intimate, 40 capacity space ideal for acoustic or low-key performances.
As well as working with established and longstanding promoters from Manchester and beyond, Gullivers prides itself on being a welcoming, supportive space and a creative hub for the city’s grassroots artistic communities; with many now successful bands, artists, performers and promoters cutting their teeth within its walls.
This rare combination of space, location and ethos allows Gullivers to boast a busy calendar of live music, spoken word, comedy, theatre, film screenings, exhibitions and much more on almost every night of the week.

109 Oldham Street,

Manchester,

Greater Manchester,

England,

M4 1LW.

0161 839 4064