20 years ago, the fastest selling jazz album in UK chart history was released. The sophomore album from critically-adored singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum, Twentysomething soared to the status of one of the most celebrated albums of the year, Brit and Grammy nominated.
In the ensuing two decades, Cullum has released a plethora of projects with over 10 million copies sold, collaborated with titans of the industry like Pharrell Williams, Kendrick Lamar and Herbie Hancock, and has established himself as a multi-award winning broadcaster with a successful BBC Radio 2 show.
Now he’s back, full circle, for a trip down memory lane. On 20th October, Cullum re-released Twentysomething for the first time on vinyl via Decca and Universal Music. Featuring heavy-hitting singles like “All at Sea” and “These Are the Days”, the album is sprawling and undoubtedly ahead of its time, with the production and songwriting standing the test of time, well suited to the progression of contemporary music. A cherished and nostalgic release, Cullum’s legacy has further augmented with this triumphant unveiling.
He may not be Twentysomething anymore, but the impact of the singer-songwriter’s sophomore LP is still seen today. Here, Cullum reflects on the album and its legacy, discussing his reasons for revisiting the album, and opens up on UK jazz’s resurgence and the modern industry.
Listen to the classic LP…
Read the exclusive interview…
What state of mind do we find you?
Open, curious, reluctantly nostalgic! I prefer to think about what I’m doing next usually but I’m happy to celebrate this album that changed everything for me back in 2003. I listened to it in full quite recently for the first time in about 18 years and I was misty eyed with appreciation for that scrappy, guileless 23 year old who made the album.
What has been inspiring you lately?
I am a largely self taught musician, but during COVID, I started studying music properly with a university professor and have been hugely inspired by that. Seeing how things I developed instinctively actually fit together is mind blowing. I’m inspired by going into things as deeply as possible – songs, books, great movies, lyrics, poetry, chord sequences, bebop solos – the deeper you go the more interesting things seems to get.
As someone who brought UK jazz to a new audience, have you been keeping up with the modern scene? Is there anyone you’d recommend to us?
Apart from the fact that I am a rabid consumer of new music, My BBC Radio 2 show, for the last 15 years has had the primary mission to spotlight the incredibly vibrant scene we have in the UK. The first artist we had in session back in 2008 was Seb Rochford’s Polar Bear. Most recently we’ve had both Nubya Garcia and Ezra Collective in session. I am also a judge on the Mercury Prize which was won this year for the first time by a Jazz act – Yes!…….It was Ezra Collective! There’s no feeling of ‘keeping up’ as such, it’s simply a joy to be constantly seeking for what is out there and what is brilliant. Very luckily I get to share that on the radio.
Since your early days in the industry, how have you seen the music business grow and adapt?
I have straddled two very different eras. When I started out in 2001, we were deep in the CD buying era (though I always resolutely remained a vinyl collector!). Often, to be a big artist, you needed some mainstream radio exposure and a slot on a big TV show. I travelled everywhere with Discman, a phone with snake on it and a paperback book. No social media at all. (Hilariously not dissimilar to how I try to live my life now!) The only way you could read about yourself is if you bought the paper. It all seems so quaint and simple now. Nowadays, as we all know the playing field is completely different. But I’m not dispirited about it at all. In a lot of ways, as long as you are curious and open, it’s better these days to be a music fan as you can easily turn away from what is being shoved down your throat and discover your own tribe and niche and just go deeper. As a musician it’s slightly more complicated but really the proof then, and now, is whether people will turn up to your show. I can’t see that changing anytime soon. If you make real fans, then they want to come and see you, regardless of your online stats.
Talk us through your BBC Radio 2 show, how did it come about and what about radio do you love?
Further to what I said before I’d also like to say that it really keeps me inspired and humbled. It’s a little like scheduling in proper listening. It’s so easy to do things like listening, in a scattered way, especially now some of the music streaming services are actively trying to be more like TikTok. It goes against how I feel about listening to music which is: if the music is good, you will be rewarded by deeper listening. By doing that dive, listening every week, preparing a playlist of old and new and then presenting it on the radio, you’re constantly aware of what’s out there and how good music can be. As a songwriter and performer myself it’s a reminder of how hard you have to work and where the bar is. It keeps things fresh and exciting. Also, I love that the jazz show is on Radio 2. Often you capture an audience with really unusual and challenging music that aren’t necessarily seeking that experience like perhaps a 6 music listener would be. It’s a harder job, but I find it really rewarding.
Radio is having somewhat of a renaissance of late, why do you think that could be?
I think curation still feels like something to be celebrated. I can say that as a fan of Gilles Peterson, his knowledge, curiousity, his undimmed energy for a scene he has had a huge influence on creating – it feeds me. I’m interested in his opinion and his taste as it feels completely authentic. As the world becomes more automated, people like Gilles with his immeasurable knowledge, experience and enthusiasm are bright shining stars.
How has your style and musical approach changed over the years?
I’ve begun to focus a little more heavily on my own songwriting and to write lyrics that resonate harder whether from the personal or imaginative perspective. Sitting at the piano and trying to write a song with music and lyrics that fit together like they’ve always been in cahoots, is the most pleasurable way I can spend my working day. Having said that, I realise I’m still chasing the feeling of that first jump into professional recording, of which Twentysomething was the start. A naive sense of adventure where you leave second guessing at the door. Live, to tape.
You’ve worked with some of the biggest names in world music. Who has stood out to you?
I would say working with Pharell was one of the wilder times I had. He was riding so high at that point, The Neptunes were responsible for about 60% of everything on the radio in 2005. He got me to go out to Miami to work with him after he heard my cover of Frontin on Radio 1’s Live Lounge. I was so unbelievably out of my depth. I’d never written a song with anyone else before. When we got together in the studio I watched him create alchemy behind a keyboard that took floppy disks, completely instinctively and without anything seeming to block his creative channel. The process was childlike in its willingness to explore unbounded and totally mesmerising. Whilst the songs we wrote together never saw the light of day, one of our collaborations survives – You can do it too – from his solo album, In my mind. It was a bizarre, beautiful and magical time.
In your opinion, what makes a good collaboration?
Well ideally, you want both collaborators to end up being an even more interesting proposition than they would be alone, or at least a different, equal proposition! That’s speaking as a listener. As a creator, I was always look to learn as much as possible from someone else’s process and come away with something I couldn’t have created otherwise.
What provoked the decision to rerelease your 2003 album Twentysomething on vinyl?
Well – 20 years and Twenty in title! Also, perhaps a little known fact about the album is that it was recorded live directly to reel to reel tape. There were some overdubs, but really it’s an album where there was no computer involved, no editing between takes. It feels right that it’s finally being released on my preferred format and staying in the analogue domain where it was born. Finally, and I can say this now far more comfortably, it was an album that connected with a mainstream audience that had no desire than to be anything other than itself. It went against what was happening everywhere else. At the time there wasn’t anything quite like it for better or for worse. Whilst I feel I’ve improved as a musician and songwriter since then, you cannot fake that momentum of youth, that cloud of unknowing of what’s to come that rings through an album like this. I’m proud of it!
Order the album here.