Have you ever wondered about what the heck Cullah’s new album is going to sound like? Well, wonder no more here is the ever genre-bending Cullah’s new single, Moonlove Funk.
“Why, man he doth bestride the narrow world like a “Cullahsus”; and we petty men walk under his huge legs and peep about to find ourselves dishonorable graves.”
When I asked him to describe his album in a single sentence, his response was this Shakespearian phrase. Taking in the narrowness of the world and this phrase describes the darkness of shadows cast by things that we can’t control. He describes the themes of his album with rhetorical flair. But it doesn’t describe it all in a nutshell. Not by any means.
When you get Ian (the mind behind Cullah) talking it’s hard to tell when he’s going to stop. This is a quality that has allowed him to produce album after album without so much as a hiccup. On the advent of his upcoming 27th birthday he is now releasing his stylistic 12th album. Different from so many artists who have landed on top spots due to pure luck and catchy singles; Cullah redefines maximizing your potential and has become inseparable from the music that he lovingly records, rerecords, records again, and remasters.
With his aptly named brand new album Cullahsus, he takes us back to his roots. His funky beats and that Milwaukee melodic spirit that never left now accompanies every song. His bachelors’ in Computer Engineering and the old school MC Cullah shows in the electronic tinkering that defines his song, “Till at Last”. Well-placed sampling and cheery chirps travel to your ears with ease. Positivity beams at the fall of every beat and brings a smile to your face, making you wish for just one more verse.
Budgeting his food solely from the small amount money he makes from Spotify since he has refused to fully commercialize his music; he declares his resolute spirit through “King Jebediah (The Falcon Messiah)”. The themes infused the album are a lack of control of circumstances to a larger benevolent beast. In Cullah’s case, King Jebediah seems to be the music itself that he creates and is provided by.
This is the first year that he has been able to concentrate his efforts solely on creating his music. Unhindered by other responsibilities, in “Hurrycane” and “Helios 3” he seems to be both overwhelmed and liberated in the storms and boundless space of creativity.
Despite these new joys and pains, a bit of the previous “Cullahmity” album influences “Cullahsus”. A heartbroken Irish trill echoes in “The Grief of Ceridwen” illustrating the loneliness that comes with the freedom expressed in his other songs.
The way “I see” begins initially makes you think the song is going in a completely different direction than Cullah decides takes you. Starting with a genuine hook, he takes your hand and leads you through a story of an individual rising up against nature and winning the fight. Using his new violin and banjo skills that he has acquired for the album he pours his heart out in a Call of the Wild twist on classic folk sensibility.
There are so many other songs that stitch the freedom of life in all of its joys and sorrows together in one man’s work of art. The sheer volume and the quality of the work that Cullah annually presents is impressive. He is an artist to watch for.
Find even more of his music FOR FREE on his website www.cullah.com
OR if you have spotify and if you have ever been to youtube he’s also on there!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSj-fZZlBZTCTEBpiMwMWGg
Credits for the wonderfully done Album Cover go to
BRENDAN LOSCAR
http://brendanloscar.com/
