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Mumford & Sons

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Mumford & Sons

Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (vocals, guitar, drums, mandolin), Ben Lovett (vocals, keyboards, accordion, drums), "Country" Winston Marshall (vocals, banjo, dobro), and Ted Dwane (vocals, string bass, drums, guitar). The band formed in October 2007, rising out of what some in the media labelled the "West London folk scene" with other artists such as Laura Marling, Johnny Flynn and Noah and the Whale.

Mumford & Sons recorded an EP, Love Your Ground, and toured extensively in the UK to expose audiences to their music and build support for an eventual album. Their debut album, Sigh No More, was released in the United Kingdom in October 2009, and February 2010 in the United States. The album peaked at number two on the UK Album Chart and the Billboard 200 in the US.[2][3]

The band gained popularity throughout 2010, performing for larger audiences and making their first network television appearances in the U.S. On 1 December 2010, the band received two Grammy Award nominations, one for Best New Artist and the other for Best Rock Song ("Little Lion Man"). They won the ARIA Music Award for Most Popular International Artist in 2010, and the Brit Award in 2011 for Best British Album.

History

Early years: 2007–2008

Mumford & Sons was formed in October 2007 by multi-instrumentalists Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall, and Ted Dwane.[4] Band members variously play guitar, drums, keyboard instruments, bass guitar, and traditional folk instruments such as banjo, mandolin, and resonator guitar.[5] The band name originates from the fact that Marcus Mumford was the most visible member at the time, organizing the band and their local performances. Lovett indicated that the name was meant to invoke the sense of an "antiquated family business name".[6] A handful of similar bands were increasing their visibility in West London around the same time, giving rise to the label "West London folk scene". Mumford downplays that characterisation as an exaggeration—Mumford & Sons and a few other folk acts just happened to be operating in general area at the time. In an interview with the Herald Sun, Marcus Mumford said, "It's not folk really. Well, some of it is, and it's certainly not a scene. Someone got over-excited about a few bands who live in a hundred-mile radius and put it in a box to sell it as a package. It's a community, not a scene. It's not exclusive."[4] Having developed in the same musical and cultural environment, Mumford & Sons' sound has been compared to that of artists such as Noah and the Whale, Johnny Flynn, and Laura Marling, for whom Marcus Mumford used to drum.[7]

In early 2008 the band began working with manager Adam Tudhope, who, as part of management company Everybody's, also represents Keane and Laura Marling.[8] It was through Tudhope's connection that Mumford & Sons were exposed to their future A&R at Island, Louis Bloom, who began monitoring the band. Bloom told HitQuarters that they were still at a fledgling state and not yet ready for a label deal: "There was no one there for it, just a few friends, and they needed time to develop. Over the next six months I kept going to see them and they were literally picking up fans every time."[8]

In February 2008, the band completed an extensive UK tour with support from Alessi's Ark, Sons of Noel and Adrian, Peggy Sue, Pete Roe, The Cutaway and others. June marked the band's first appearance at the Glastonbury Festival.[5] Mumford also toured Australia with Laura Marling, whose disinclination to interact with audiences encouraged Mumford into the spotlight. The experience helped inform his attitude toward Mumford & Sons audiences, which is to interact frequently and to try to create a comfortable, casual atmosphere.[4]

Mumford & Sons' first project was an EP entitled Love Your Ground which took a year to complete and was released in November 2008 on Chess Club Records.[5]

Sigh No More: 2009–2010

Band members play multiple instruments in live performances. Here, Marcus Mumford sits at a drum kit.

Throughout 2008 and into 2009, Mumford & Sons performed in small to moderate venues in the UK and US, exposing audiences to Love Your Ground tracks and other material that would eventually become Sigh No More. The band finally recorded Sigh No More with Markus Dravs, who had produced albums with artists such as Arcade Fire.[4] At the time, band members did not even own their own instruments—Dravs initially turned them away when they showed up at the recording sessions empty-handed.[9] The only track from Love Your Ground to be included on Sigh No More was "Little Lion Man". The band told the Herald Sun that they self-financed the album to avoid the artistic and technical compromises that sometimes befall studio-financed projects[4]. They toured again in support of Laura Marling in 2009, and Mumford & Sons were contributing musicians to her 2010 album I Speak Because I Can.[10][4]

In August 2009, Mumford & Sons signed a licensing deal to Island Records in the UK, to Dew Process in Australia and New Zealand, to Glassnote Records in North America and Cooparative Music in the rest of the world, and through its own label Gentlemen of the Road. Dew Process boss Paul Piticco signed the band after having seen it at a US gig in 2009 and having appreciated its "honest" approach and unique sound.[4] Their debut album was released on 5 October 2009 with "Little Lion Man" as the lead single.

Dave Berry of XFM named "Little Lion Man" his record of the week, and in another interview with the band, Berry said "Screw 'of the week', it's my favourite track of the year." BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe made "Little Lion Man" his "Reaction Record" on 27 July 2009,[11] before naming it the "Hottest Record in the World" the following evening.[12]

In their first performance on US network television, the band played their single "Little Lion Man" on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman on 17 February 2010. This appearance was followed by a performance of "The Cave" on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on 26 February 2010.[13]

Mumford & Sons have been commercially successful in Australia and New Zealand. The single "Little Lion Man" has been popular—by January 2010, it had topped the Triple J Hottest 100 list for all of 2009. Its margin of victory was the largest in the history of the chart.[14] In November 2010, the band won an ARIA Music Award for Most Popular International Artist.[15] Sigh No More first reached number 9 on the New Zealand charts in October 2010, and subsequently topped the chart in January 2011 due to strong popularity of singles from the album.[16]

In a March 2010 interview, Ray Davies announced that Mumford & Sons will be appearing on his forthcoming collaborations album.[17] Marcus confirmed this in an interview the same month, stating, "I am more excited about that than I have been about anything before in my life".[4] Mumford & Sons performed the track "Days/This Time Tomorrow" along with Davies on 12 February 2010 on Later... with Jools Holland.[18]

The band also feature in the three 30 second UK television advertisements.

In December 2010, Mumford & Sons earned Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song ("Little Lion Man"). While they did not go on to win an award, the band performed their single "The Cave" at the Grammy ceremony. The performance earned positive media attention and boosted visibility for Sigh No More—US sales increased by 99% in the period following the ceremony.[19][20] They also backed Bob Dylan in his performance of "Maggie's Farm".[21] In February 2011 they won a Brit Award for British Album of the Year with Sigh No More and performed "Timshel" at the ceremony.[6] UK sales of the album subsequently increased by 266 percent.[20]

As of March 2011, Sigh No More has sold over 1,000,000 copies in both the United States and the United Kingdom.[20]

Second studio album: 2011–present

While touring the United States in early 2011, the band began writing songs for the follow-up album. Keyboardist Ben Lovett credited the creative atmosphere of Nashville, Tennessee with easing the songwriting process.[22] The album is due in late 2011.[23] In March 2011, it was announced that the band would be appearing on The Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival having played as relative unknowns on the John Peel stage in 2010.[24] On 13 April 2011, VH1 filmed an intimate unplugged performance by Mumford & Sons - appropriately titled 'Mumford & Sons: Unplugged'.[25] On 11 June 2011, Mumford & Sons performed at Bonnaroo on "Which Stage". [26]

On Friday 24 June 2011, while performing at Glastonbury, the band announced they have been recording a new album, to be released in late 2011. They then performed several new tracks from the forthcoming album, of which the title was not revealed.[27]

Musical style and influences

Mumford & Sons are noted for their energetic live performances in which band members juggle varying setlists and exchange musical instruments. In interviews, they express attraction to a culture of personal connection with audience members and "downsizing".[4] The band members have stated many times that live gigs are by far their favourite part of the music experience, and that they strive for a lively, inclusive atmosphere.

Much of Mumford & Sons' lyrical content has a strong literary influence, its debut album name deriving from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. The track "Sigh No More" includes lines from the play such as Serve God love me and mend and One foot in sea and one on shore. The song "Roll Away Your Stone" is influenced by Macbeth.[28] In an interview, Mumford was quoted as saying, "You can rip off Shakespeare all you like; no lawyer's going to call you up on that one."[28] Additionally, "The Cave" includes several references to The Odyssey.

Both "Timshel" and "Dust Bowl Dance" draw heavily from the John Steinbeck novels Of Mice and Men, East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath, respectively. Mumford, in an interview, even compared touring to a Steinbeck adventure: "[Steinbeck] talked about how a journey is a thing of its own, and you can't plan it or predict it too much because that suffocates the life out it. That's kind of what touring is like. Even though there's a structure—you know what towns you're going to, and that you'll be playing a gig—pretty much anything can happen." Mumford also in his spare time runs an online book club on the band's official web site.[29]

Discography

Main article: Mumford & Sons discography

References

  1. ^ Kagler, Marcus. ":.. Mumford and Sons | Under The Radar ..:". Undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  2. ^ 'Now 37' Livens Up Billboard 200 at No. 1, Mumford Climb to No. 2 Billboard Retrieved 2 March 2011
  3. ^ Chart Stats: UK Album Chart (26 February 2011) Retrieved 2 March 2011
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Betts, Marianne (25 March 2010). "Mumford & Sons have taken Australia by storm". Herald Sun. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "London - Radio - Mumford and Sons". BBC. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  6. ^ a b Collis, Clark (4 March 2011). "Mumford and Sons: Ben Lovett talks about playing with Dylan, recording with Ray Davies, and high-fiving R. Kelly". Entertainment Weekly Music Mix. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
  7. ^ Walker, Tim (28 July 2008). "Mumford & Sons, The Luminaire, London". The Independent. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Interview With Louis Bloom". HitQuarters. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  9. ^ "Mumford And Sons: 'We were banished from studio by producer'". NME. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  10. ^ "BBC Sound of 2009: Mumford & Sons". BBC News. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  11. ^ Lowe, Zane (27 July 2009). "Tracklisting – Monday 27th July". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  12. ^ Lowe, Zane (28 July 2009). "Tracklisting – Tuesday 28th July". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  13. ^ "Mumford And Sons censor 'Little Lion Man' for David Letterman". NME. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  14. ^ Gregg, Natalie (27 January 2010). "Aussies rock in Triple J's Hottest 100". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  15. ^ Collett-White, Mike (20 November 2010). "Mumford & Sons top ARIA Awards". Billboard 122 (46): p. 32.
  16. ^ "International Charts: Mumford & Sons' Sigh No More rallies around globe". Music Week: p. 28. 22 January 2011.
  17. ^ Uricheck, Mark (15 March 2010). "THE MUSICIAN'S VOICE: A Chat With The Legendary Ray Davies". Themusiciansvoice.blogspot.com. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  18. ^ BBC - Later live... with Jools Holland: Ray Davies & Mumford and Sons - Days / This Time Tomorrow Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  19. ^ Gundersen, Edna (24 February 2011). "A Grammy performance is good for business". USA Today. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  20. ^ a b c "Mumford & Sons reach UK and US million sales landmark". NME. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  21. ^ Scaggs, Austin (4 March 2011). "Marcus Mumford on backing Dylan, naked songwriting and why Arcade Fire rule his world". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  22. ^ Montgomery, James (17 February 2011). "Mumford & Sons write Sigh No More follow-up while touring U.S.". MTV.com. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  23. ^ Gallo, Phil (26 February 2011). "The good, the bad and the uh-oh". Billboard 123 (7): p. 18.
  24. ^ Topping, Alexandra (2 March 2011). "Glastonbury festival 2011: Mumford & Sons make leap to Other stage". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  25. ^ "VH1 Unplugged Be-in-the-audience Details". Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  26. ^ "Mind Reader 2011".
  27. ^ "Glastonbury Festival".
  28. ^ a b Pearson, Rick (9 November 2009). "The bookshop band Mumford & Sons". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  29. ^ Mumford & Sons set up 'Richard & Judy'-style book club NME Retrieved 23 December 2010


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