CMU Playlists

Playlist: Mumford & Sons

By | Published on Saturday 10 July 2010

Since forming in December 2007, Mumford & Sons – vocalist and guitarist Marcus Mumford, banjo player ‘Country’ Winston Marshall, keyboard player Ben Lovett and double bassist Ted Dwane – have quickly become one of the top names amongst the new wave of folk-influenced acts in the UK, alongside the likes of Noah & The Whale and Laura Marling.

The band’s debut album, ‘Sigh No More’, peaked at number seven in the UK chart following its release last year, and has since been certified platinum, spawning singles such as ‘Little Lion Man’ and ‘The Cave’.

Next week Communion, the record label owned by Ben with Cherbourg’s Kevin Jones and producer Ian Grimble, Communion, will take over Kentish Town’s Flowerpot venue for seven days next week for a special collaboration. Artists involved – the likes of Mt Desolation, Lissie, Angus & Julia Stone, Kill It Kid, Matthew & The Atlas and members of Mumford & Sons – will spend the week writing and recording songs for a forthcoming album and then perform together in the evenings. For full details, click here.

Ahead of that, we asked Ben to put together a Powers Of Ten playlist. The result, he tells us, is “a selection of artists involved with Communion and some of my tour listening favourites”. 

BEN LOVETT’S TEN
Click here to listen to Ben’s playlist in Spotify, and then read on to find out more about his selections.

01 Johnny Flynn – Howl
I love this song. I love this song so much I get shivers, smile and grit my teeth. Johnny is a ridiculously talented songwriter and the individuals who make up his band and sound are equally talented. ‘Howl’ is off the new album, ‘Been Listening’. Worth every penny.

02 The Maccabees – Can You Give It

Truly one of the best UK bands of recent years. We toured with the boys last year and they taught us a thing or two about life on the road, the balance of fun and doing gigs. Their second album, ‘Wall Of Arms’ is fantastic and this is a big song off that record.

03 Pete Roe – Bellina

One of our boys, this track is off Pete’s ‘Merry-Go-Round’ EP released on Communion last month. I’ve seen Pete play more than anyone else, which is quite weird to think but absolutely fantastic at the same time. He’s a true British troubadour, and not a bad guy either.

04 Peggy Sue – February Snow

I’ve played with this band, produced a record for them, and admired them for years. Something that people often forget these days is the power of vocal melodies and drums. In my opinion, these are the most powerful musical instruments. And Peggy Sue nail it.

05 Lykke Li – Dance, Dance, Dance

We were in Stockholm last week on this tour and I remembered how much I loved Lykke Li’s debut album and listened to it a lot of the time in 2009. Her voice is amazing, and the production on this record is so perfect for it. She played her debut show in the UK at the birthday party of one of our friends, who runs another independent record label in London, Chess Club.

06 Alessi’s Ark – Constellations

I spent a significant amount of time playing keys for the wonderful Alessi and I felt very honoured to have done that. She made a brilliant album, ‘Notes From The Treehouse’, that didn’t get the recognition it deserved and this is my favourite track off that record. Album two is in the pipeline.

07 Matthew & The Atlas – Within The Rose

Matthew is such a lovely and unassuming man but his voice is extraordinary and was impossible to ignore, there’s such wisdom and character to it. This song was recorded last winter as huge flakes of snow fell around the studio, nestled in the crypt of a church in north London.

08 Broadcast 2000 – That Sinking Feeling

We love what Joe Steer does, both live and recorded he is an immensely creative and ingenious musician. This track is from his debut album which has just come out, we were so pleased when he agreed to submit a song for our Communion compilation.

09 Kurran & The Wolfnotes – Here To Fill You In

Kurran is a very gifted songwriter who has a way of stringing brilliant section after brilliant section together – a relentless run of hook laden melody and personal lyrics.

10 Jeremy Warmsley – How We Became

Jeremy is an incredibly talented and intelligent musician and one of the first artists to establish himself on the scene, as a result he’s influenced a lot of the other musicians over the past few years.



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