Search - Brian Cullman :: All Fires the Fire

Brian Cullman grew up in New York City with a radio glued to his ear and a passport tight in his fist. Over the years, that radio has gotten larger as the world has grown smaller, and he has been a frequent explorer of the world s hidden musics, from Iran to Senegal, from Morocco to Trinidad, before coming home to the sounds of All Fires the Fire.
"I started an album 8 or 9 years ago down in New Orleans, but never finished it. I got derailed by the various etceteras of life. Then, sometime in 2007, a friend who d been a label executive called and said he d been listening to tapes of the sessions and wanted to release them. I was flattered, but it felt like old news. IInstead, got together with friends from the band Ollabelle, and a sound started to take shape. I hadn t been writing much, but new songs kept appearing, I d stretch out my hand and they d pull over, like a taxi. Once we got into the studio, we recorded as live as possible, just kept everything tied to the story and the feeling."
All Fires the Fire captures the freshness of that spirit coupled with a sense of homecoming. The music is both cosmopolitan and primal, from the Salvation Army band coda of Sweet Companion and the dark gospel of Somebody Calling My Name, to the casually brutal samba, The Promise.
There s a long and tangled history behind the album that belies the ease and naturalness of the music, one that takes in years of bumping into and working with some of the most visionary musicians of the late twentieth century.
"Just out of high school, I went to London and fell into a crowd of musicians who were all broke, but immensely supportive: John & Beverly Martyn, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny. They were excited to find an American who knew their music. John Martyn showed me his percussive style of finger-picking, Sandy Denny brought me along to sing back-up with her on a few sessions, and Nick Drake had me open for him at Cousins, a club on Greek Street."
Brian returned to the States and began working with some of the most inventive players on the scene, including Robert Quine, Syd Straw and Vernon Reid. But he soon slipped away from performing and began working full time as a journalist, writing for Creem, Musician, Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, Spin and Details, winning the ASCAP/Deems Taylor award for excellence in journalism three times. His return to music was behind the scenes. He began producing sessions for Lucinda Williams, Sussan Deyhim and Ghazal; collaborating with Youssou N'dour on a record for Senegalese guitar wizard Jimi Mbaye; producing the soundtrack to the 2007 documentary GYPSY CARAVAN and scoring Chris Zalla s PADRE NUESTRO, winner of the 2007 Sundance Festival before finally returning to his own songs and his own album
Much of the world s deepest music comes down to a guitar or two, a voice, a melody and a story, whether it s Hank Williams or Van Morrison, Caetano Veloso or Manno Charlemagne. That s how I approached this album, with respect for the simple power of a few chords and a few well-chosen words. I figured, if I swept the cave and built a fire, the spirits might stop by.