Falsetto-wielding soul performer Joel Culpepper sat down with The House That Soul Built to discuss his perspectives on soul music, the impetus behind his songwriting, and his career thus far

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Joel Culpepper is having a great year. Having recently completed a European tour, this buzzy soul artist has a series of festivals in the pipeline. Generously, Mr Culpepper has carved out some time in his busy schedule to chat with me. The following day he is off to Glastonbury Festival. When he returns, he has a brief respite before performing at the Innervisions Festival – a multi-venue festival across London featuring the best in soul, jazz, and funk. He is performing at Under the Bridge on 3^rd July.

Having reviewed Culpepper’s performance at EartH in April, I was accustomed to his electric energy on stage. The man truly bounces off the walls. Off stage, however, he is disarmingly calm and collected. Reflecting on his recent successes, he expresses a degree of bewilderment. ‘Every artist dreams vividly about how far their career can go… I think when it happens in real life [and] in real terms it’s always surreal.’ He is particularly hyped about performing at the BST Hyde Park Festival on 6th July, part of the day’s entertainment before Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder take to the main stage. Despite occasional bouts of fatigue, he thrives off the busy schedule. ‘I’m pleased my name is even in the conversation!’

When I ask whether Culpepper thinks of himself as a soul artist, he answers directly: ‘I do soulful music and I’m inspired by a lot of soulful artists.’ However, he argues that soul music is somewhat ubiquitous. ‘I think soul music is everywhere in every kind of genre… I’ve found it in Beach Boys; I’ve found it in Tame Impala.’ He therefore stresses the importance that the genre be seen as progressive, drawing comparisons to how the jazz scene has evolved in the UK.

Given his position on the many faces of soul, I ask Culpepper what he deems as the common denominator in soul music. Though acknowledging that there are various factors, he pins down the voice as key. ‘It doesn’t need to be a voice that is massively acrobatic. It has to have a resonance, a tone that definitely has a bit of melancholy to it.’ He specifically calls out Dan Auerbach, lead vocalist of the Black Keys, as an example of this. When I ask him who he regards as the definitive soul voice, he answers with Donny Hathaway. ‘He has the perfect blend of happy and sad. It’s in his voice the minute you hear it.’ He argues that this duality is another characteristic feature within soul, noting the interdependence between joy and pain in the Negro Spirituals. ‘They sang to alleviate pain, to deal with suffering, to feel a level of joy.’

The specificity with which Culpepper discusses soul music is unsurprising given his upbringing. While his parents themselves were not musical, he was exposed to soul music as a child living with his mother in South-East London. ‘I used to watch my mum downstairs eyes closed with the stereo system on just playing Luther Vandross.’ He also namechecks the likes of Teddy Pendergrass, Diana Ross, and Whitney Houston as particular favourites in his household. His father was a particular fan of Randy Crawford. Using his parent’s tastes as a starting point, he went further back, discovering the likes of Prince, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, and James Brown. It was at an uncle’s prompting that he first heard Donny Hathaway.

Culpepper went on to study the likes of Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, and Eric Roberson as they spearheaded the neo-soul movement. Initially disheartened that he did not sound like Boyz II Men like his peers in church, it was upon listening to D’Angelo that he began to harness his own falsetto and understand the capabilities of his voice. Thought of as a promising dancer and visual artist, friends and family gradually came to see Culpepper’s potential as a musician.

I direct our discussion onto the British soul landscape. Culpepper’s appraisal is positive and optimistic. ‘I think it’s growing; I think it’s re-defining itself.’ He points to singer-songwriters Jordan Rakei, Tom Misch, and Michael Kiwanuka as champions of this progressive streak.

Sticking to the topic of British soul, I refer to the mainstream success of artists like Duffy, Adele, and Sam Smith initially marketed as ‘soul’ or ‘soulful’. I float the argument that the industry has a problem marketing black British soul singers specifically. He agrees. ‘Black soul singers have always had a tricky time. Artists that I feel that should be on everybody’s lips and minds as living legends [are] people like Omar [and] Terri Walker. [They] deserve more props and respect for the music they’ve made but also the way they’ve paved some major roads for artists like myself to even exist.’

He also cites Lynden David Hall, Shaun Escoffery, and Beverley Knight as other important figures in British soul. In fact, Culpepper supported Ms Knight at the London Palladium as part of her I <3 Soulsville tour in 2017. He describes how Knight has ‘shown [him] such love and support’ in every encounter they’ve had.

Culpepper’s first EP Skydive came out in 2012. While enjoying his early material, I note that his more recent music seems darker, grittier, and edgier both sonically and lyrically. Culpepper agrees: ‘I love that you feel that as well.’  While Culpepper was scoping out his artistry in his early material, he has since become convinced that he wants his music to be as raw and free as possible. ‘I now have a sledgehammer and I’m going to town! It’s important to break the rules.’ But he clarifies: ‘You need to know them first.’

Skydive garnered some industry attention. Culpepper sees Jimmy Hogarth – a London-based songwriter and producer (Duffy, Amy Winehouse, Estelle) – as the first industry veteran to see potential in him. Together they produced ‘Don’t Mean I’m In Love’, a track from Culpepper’s most recent EP Tortoise (2017), in a single take. Culpepper also has a personal friendship and professional relationship with Guy Chambers, a formidable writer, musician and producer best known for his work with Robbie Williams.

Culpepper’s sophomore EP Tortoise (2017) was another turning point. And understandably so: it showcases Culpepper’s raw vocals and songwriting chops. I quiz him about two of the standout tracks from the album. ‘Far From Your Average’, which tends to open Culpepper’s shows, is the best James Bond theme that never was. It is dripping in gravitas. The song was produced by Rich De Rosa (Rita Ora, Example) and Morgan Nicholls (Gorrilaz, Muse). Culpepper describes how the song draws upon a series of bad relationships as well as a general dismissive attitude he observed from others about his prospects as a performer. ‘The message that I want to convey in the song is “you should have never underestimated me”.’

The most classic sounding song on the album is ‘Woman’, produced by Swindle. ‘What spawned it was the attitude and grit… It’s almost fact checking… A series of statements’. Indeed, in the song Culpepper ticks off various frustrations: ‘Just got paid / But the man needs to give me a raise.’ His live performance of ‘Woman’ on the YouTube channel COLORS based in Berlin has amassed over 8 million views. ‘It’s insane man. I don’t even know what that means; it’s really hard to get my brain around that number.’ Despite having a bad cold, he threw himself into the performance, taking his shirt off (as he tends to do during his live performances, I note) and spitting fire. ‘Loads of people prefer the video to the version on the record, which again informed me [that] this is about the emotion and the rawness.’

With great momentum and an album in the pipeline, I’m sure Culpepper has plenty more rawness to share.

To buy tickets to see Joel Culpepper at Under the Bridge on 3rd July as part of Innervisions Festival, click here!