interview with Mumford and Sons

From auction house to the “hottest record in the world”, Mumford & Sons are just happy while it lasts.

Basking in the sunshine on a sunny afternoon in Dorset, it’s as if summer has finally arrived. We’ve been waiting for it for so long and then, pow, here it is, just one weekend of gloriousness before the rain comes crashing in and autumn arrives. At least we had it for a little while.

It’s the same kind of attitude shown by the chaps in Mumford & Sons, the hot new pick of the pops on the UK folk scene, although they dispute they’re folk at all. You may have heard the name, you may have seen the list of sold out concerts in magazines and MySpaces, you may have even seen a couple of them on stage with those other ‘I’m not folk’ folk artists. And while those other artists in question have hit the big time, your Noah And The Whales and your Laura Marlings, Mumford & Sons have been busily beavering away in the background.

Mumford and Sons - Cave

The almighty power of Mumford & Sons

It's not so much about God, say rock'n'roots band Mumford & Sons – it's about having spirit. And their gigs have that in spades

Keeping the faith ... Mumford & Sons

The pub is filling up: City boys in pinstriped suits, women clutching dry white wines; candles are lit on upstairs tables, voices rise to fill the room. In a back booth, far away from the clamour of the bar, four fastidiously attired young men nurse pints of ale. Mumford & Sons are here on a break from a nearby studio, where they have been rehearsing in ­preparation for an upcoming tour that will take them from Australia to the US and back to the UK for a run of sold-out dates, and which will likely cement their reputation as one of the best live bands in Britain.

Mumford and Sons - Little Lion Man

Mumford & Sons

Mumford & Sons are a folk/bluegrass group formed in London in September 2008. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, guitar, bass drum), Country Winston (banjo, slide guitar, vocals), Ted Dwayne (double bass, drums, vocals), and Ben Lovett (keyboards, accordion, vocals).

Having received critical acclaim from The Guardian on their “Band of the Day” online forum, and resounding praise from nearly everyone who has witnessed them supporting The Maccabees and Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons continue to turn heads in London’s growing folk scene.

Their debut EP, Lend Me Your Eyes, features four tracks, including lead single “Roll away Your Stone”. Chess Club released their second EP, “Love Your Ground”, on the 3rd November 2009 on 10inch vinyl. The third EP, “The Cave and the Open Sea” (which was limited to 500 vinyls) is available as a download from their official rawrip page. Their debut album Sigh No More was released on Gentlemen of the Road/Island Records on the 5th October 2009, and the first single “Little Lion Man” came out a week earlier.