There's not much about Ben Sollee's career that could be described as conventional. The singer-songwriter's primary instrument is the cello, and his work ranges from traditional classical music to Asian folk tunes. Even his preferred method of transportation on tour deviates from the norm; he's been known to travel from one show to the next on a bicycle with his cello strapped to the back.
Sollee is classically trained — and has played in settings more typical of a cellist — but he's also collaborated with My Morning Jacket and Béla Fleck. His experience working within different genres has had a huge influence on his songwriting process, even affecting the techniques he uses while playing his instrument.
"For the longest time, I felt like I was inventing new ways to play the cello to service the songs," he tells World Café host David Dye. "And then, once I really got down to it, I'm doing the same thing with the cello that, you know, composers have been doing for years — they always use the instrument as a pivot point."
Appearing here with a full backing band, Sollee plays songs from his latest album, Half Made Man. It's Sollee's first self-produced record, and he says that — thanks to a helpful suggestion from friend and collaborator Jim James of My Morning Jacket — he deliberately tried to record it with a more live sound, shying away from the meticulous orchestration of his previous efforts.
This World Cafe session was originally published on January 2,2013.
Copyright 2020 XPN. To see more, visit XPN.