Singer-songwriter Heath Cullen is ready to release his third full length album, titled Outsiders, at the Candelo Hall on Friday, and the title is a theme that resonates with him on a number of levels.

“I have lots of good friends in musical circles in the city but I don’t feel part of that,” he said.

The new release features Pete Thomas, Steve Nieve and Davey Faragher, who are more familiarly known to fans of the post-punker and human pop-encyclopaedia Elvis Costello as his band The Imposters.

Cullen met Thomas at a show in Los Angeles, after a set playing the drums in a side project named after a North American expletive synonymous with something equivalent to nothing, and the two hit it off.

In 2014 Costello and The Imposters toured Australia, giving Cullen the sharp idea that they should record an album together while on tour.

“I kind of threw the idea out there casually,” Cullen said.

“Then one day I got a call from Pete [Thomas] saying he had a couple of days off.

“Because it came out of the blue I didn’t have many songs or the funds to make the record.” 

With only six weeks to write an album, raise the money to record it and lay it all on tape, Cullen knew it was the perfect opportunity but the process wouldn’t be easy.

He decided to crowdfund the album just as he had successfully done with his last full length, and after amazing community support he was able to head to Sing Sing Recording Studios in Melbourne for a new creative journey and a rendezvous with The Imposters.

“They were all really excited about the project,” he said about the group.

“From the first note it had the right energy.

“There’s a language of understanding you get with that kind of relationship.”

Cullen wears his big heart on his leather sleeve, and it’s evident by his smile that it was an invaluable experience, and one that also made him feel right at home.

“We had fun and it think it sounds like that on the record,” he said.

The path to those two days inside the walls of Sing Sing started with piano lessons with local teacher Kim Elton and nights spent at the back of the Candelo Pub, immersed in the music that surrounded him.

“I remember hearing John Horton play guitar at the Candelo Arts Society music and variety night out the back of the Candelo Pub at four or five years old,” he said.

“He slipped me a few Bob Dylan records on the side.”

The one night only launch of Outsiders at the Candelo Hall will be an intimate thank you to the people who have supported him throughout, with more than 80 per cent of the money raised for the record coming from his local audience.

“I feel like a real part of the community and the community is part of me,” Cullen said.

He’ll be sharing his musings with The Imposters with the help of drummer Jay McMahon, double bass aficionado Matt Nightingale and Pete Wild on piano.

It will be a busy year for Cullen as he’s off to the Pacific shores of California in the next few weeks before officially releasing Outsiders globally in July, followed by extensive touring in support of the LP.

“I don’t know why I do it, but if I did anything else it would drive me crazy,” he said. 

Heath Cullen will play at Candelo Town Hall on Friday from 7.30pm for $25. 

To pre-book tickets click here.