During a new conversation on Austin Burke's Playlisted Podcast, one of Morgan Wallen's most prominent session-players, Dave Cohen, reflects on what sets Wallen apart in the studio.

When asked what the Sneedville native is like to work with, Cohen immediately underlines how much he enjoys getting the chance to collaborate with the ‘Last Night’ chart-topper.

Cohen gushes, “Morgan Wallen is all sorts of awesome. He knows what he wants. With him and a lot of artists that are extraordinary in their fields, like, there's hit artists and every now, and then there are the people that just do crazy things”.

He goes on to admit that, often, artists aren't able to embrace the need to collaborate when pursuing their vision, “A lot of those times, the people that do the crazy things have this perfect Goldilocks zone of having a vision and being willing to collaborate. And when that is not right, a lot of people have a vision, and don't want to collaborate, and a lot of those times, those recording sessions are hard”.

Cohen stresses that Wallen is able to do both, making his recording sessions feel more cohesive, “Morgan is a collaborator and he also knows who he is and knows who he isn't”.

Cohen has worked on a host of Wallen's most recognisable hits, playing piano, B-3 organ and keyboards on gems such as ‘7 Summers’, ‘Sand in My Boots’, ‘Wasted On You’, ‘Just in Case’, ‘Lies, Lies, Lies’, ‘I'm the Problem’, ‘I'm a Little Crazy’ and more.

Cohen was also a key figure in the studio for Wallen's rendition of Jason Isbell's ‘Cover Me Up’, with the prolific session-player credited as a co-producer alongside Joey Moi.

It's interesting to hear Wallen being championed as a gold standard of sorts in the writing room and studio, because he often receives flak for the number of collaborators and co-writers he works with. Some traditional-leaning figures criticise this as some kind of sign that Wallen isn't talented enough to create these songs by himself.

But these naysayers overlook the inherently collaborative nature of Nashville. Some of the most revered albums in history from across all genres have been some of the most collaborative. Wallen clearly recognises the value of having a strong, clear vision for what sound he wants, while not being afraid to lean on others in achieving this.

It's one of the reasons he has cemented himself as one of the biggest artists on the planet, with each experimental and genre-blurring step he takes being a bold move in a new direction, while still feeling like it aligns with his overall blueprint and ‘brand’.

Cohen's words of praise echo those of other Wallen' collaborators of late, with the ‘Been By Now’ singer-songwriter regularly cited as one of the most impressive co-writers and artists to work with. With Wallen continuing to hint at a new chapter revolving around ‘Been By Now’, we're excited to see if Cohen is involved in his next album.