Interview: Mumford & Sons > <

Tue, Jan 5 2010

Mumford & Sons: No Folking Way

Interview: Mumford & Sons

London-based folk collective Mumford & Sons don't really need an introduction, they have after all taken the staling folk genre, shaken it awake with youthful vigour and dragged it kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. It didn't really want to go anywhere at first, folk was quite happy with its quiet appreciation of the finer points of the UK's micro-breweries and Bob Dylan impersonators, but slowly it began warming up and enjoying a bit of a jig with the kids.

The folk revival began with the likes of Johnny Flynn getting championed by iTunes and in the cellars and bars of the excellent Mumford-run Communion nights. Then Laura Marling got nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize and suddenly London's more fashionable thoroughfares were all "banjo music-this" and "harmonica music-that".

That said, last year, 2009, was Mumford & Sons year. Whether they were recording with Arcade Fire producer Markus Dravs, lighting fires in the hearts of embattled festival-goers, or taking in sold-out headline shows the world over, they've become UK folk music's leading lights.

Rivmixx was lucky enough to grab some time with keyboardist/vocalist Ben Lovett and gain some insight into the band's last year, not to mention their opinions on the folk scene, which they may or may not be a part of...

mumford and sons

Something for the weekend Sir?

Rivmixx: We've heard that Mumford & Sons don't like to be labelled as a "folk" band. Is that because you find it a restrictive term?

Ben Lovett: "Well in as much as any label is restrictive. We've been labelled a few things in the past two years but the main reason we don't call ourselves folk, is because we don't feel qualified. Folk is a genre steeped in tradition and incredible musicianship. We're just four lads who are making the music we love. There isn't much of a sense of high art to it."

R: A lot of people think that folk is a stagnant genre. Do you think that folk music suffers from a lack of recognition?

B.L: "There are elements of folk that are stagnant. But there are similar restrictions in all genres of music. I do think that folk music suffers from a lack of recognition, because at the core of folk music is song-writing. Lyrics, melody, harmony. Elements that I think are key to a good song. These are elements in music that have perhaps been lost in recent years."

R: Do you think that - ironically, considering folk music by definition is of the people - as soon as a band becomes popular or changes with trends, they are no longer deemed folk music?

B.L: "Haha, that's a very good point. Unfortunately it is in our human nature to want to degrade the popular, or peg the successful. Folk isn't exempt of this. In many ways this question strikes at the heart of the problem of labelling anything. There haven't been too many folk bands, I suppose, who have become popular recently that show any change in their style due to success, but I think that if someone wants to change the style in which they convey, what they're trying to express in a song, they have complete license to do that."

R: Between you guys, Laura Marling, Johnny Flynn, Peggy Sue and Alessi's Ark (to grab a quick sample), there seems to be quite a strong movement developing/developed. The Laura Marling and Friends gig at the Royal Festival Hall seemed to come as close to a "revue" show as you can...

B.L: "Laura Marling and Friends at the Royal Festival Hall was an amazing thing to be a part of. There has been an ever-growing open-ended community of musicians that we've been lucky to be a part of. It doesn't seem to have had a start date and I'm sure it won't have an end date. "Movements" are more transient than I think people give credit. It's almost like the whole six degrees of separation scenario, playing music, I'd imagine most bands are never more than three degrees of separation from each other."

R: What nights/venues would you recommend for people who want to hear folk music with a bit of vitality?

B.L: "Well, I've been co-running a night that does exactly that, called Communion @ The Notting Hill Arts Club for the past three and a half years - seven live acts a night based mostly on folk but staying eclectic where possible. We have a very exciting year up ahead with the launch of the Communion Record Label. But if you don't trust my bias opinion as promoter there are often good nights at The Old Queens Head in Islington, or the Wilkommen Collective in Brighton often host fantastic nights down in those parts of the world."

R: Was it a shock recording a debut album when you'd been used to shorter formats?

B.L: "It certainly was more intense. We figured recording a 12 track album would be three times harder than recording a four track EP. It is, unsurprisingly, more complicated than that. It took us a month and we worked every day. We were very lucky to work with the experience and personality of Markus Dravs as he helped keep track of the whole process, taking a step back and making sure it took the shape we collectively wanted, whilst we poured as much into every moment as we could."

R: I hear Dravs booted you out of the studio for not owning your own instruments?

B.L: "Quite fairly! We really should have been more prepared but that wasn't really our style! Markus kicked us into shape. I guess during the album we went from ramshackle to semi-professional. But then we went out on tour with The Maccabees the day after finishing the record and gladly regressed a little."

R: The album really feels like a cosy winter record. Was that an intentional thing? Did you leave it until October to release the record or has it all been a happy coincidence?

B.L: "We hope it's not too season specific because for us it was written over all four seasons. So no we weren't trying to hit the autumn/winter season! It's just how things panned out. Having made the record early summer, it was the fastest we could get it out. We didn't want to sit on it for months so just put it out."

R: Lyrically your music seems to be far more inspired by affairs of the heart and the writing of Brian Wilson and other pop acts. Was this a conscious decision? Is the writing process collaborative in the lyrical sense as well?

B.L: "No-one's ever compared our lyrics to Brian Wilson's. A compliment I suppose but hard to expand on as it seems a little abstract. I'd say Marcus takes most responsibility when it comes to writing lyrics but that's not a rule and doesn't apply to the whole album. It's easiest to understand our music as a collaborative process because we all mean every note and word that we put out."

R: What made you want to throw a "hoe-down" instead of the traditional album launch party?

B.L: "I don't think we were made aware of what a traditional album launch party is. We just thought it'd be really fun to have a hoe-down like we used to have to celebrate the record. Fortunately the organizers of Standon Calling offered up their beautiful barn for the occasion and we brought 500 family, friends and fans outside of London to come and dance with us. It was a good decision."

R: What's next for the group recording-wise? Do you see yourself returning to the EP format for your next few releases?

B.L: "We will be doing rough demos of our new material in January and will take it from there. We will be recording our next release in 2010, in whatever format that may take, an EP or album. We're keen to keep recording because it's a very liberating experience for us and the songs!"

R: Are you a prolific group? Do you start looking to the next project as soon as the one you're working on is finished, or do you think you'll take your time and enjoy touring this album for a while?

B.L: "Well one album in it's hard to say, but we aspire to be a prolific group. We also love touring and want to do 'Sigh No More' justice so we'll just have to see how the year pans out. But all of us are constantly writing and gigging; new material is integral to our touring style. As long as we're having fun we'll either be recording or touring so that can be said for certain!"