Mumford & Sons' family life
by Jenny Pashkova - Mumford & Sons are four young lads based in London, but you might think otherwise after listening to their country-inspired EP.
"I think all of us grew up with some sort of folk in our heritage," says singer Marcus Mumford.
"We all come from quite different backgrounds. At the same time, as I started with country properly, I saw Winnie again in his country band."
The band embrace their "country" tag - in fact they embrace it with gusto.
"It's glorious! I'm actually going to our ranch in Miami in August to raise cattle for my holiday, which is awesome!" jokes Marcus.
"I don't really have a problem with it. We're not really hillbillies, but we'd love to be hillbillies. It's probably our biggest dream, living that lifestyle. It really is."
Being hailed as a part of a new British folk scene with Laura Marling and Noah And The Whale, Marcus insists that it's all peace, love and happiness.
"Everyone prefers each other," he insists. "But in a genuine way, not in a false way. Everyone loves each other a lot and loves the music a lot too.
"And it's non-exclusive as well – when new people are around, we feel that you can bring anything to the table."
Launching their debut single Lend Me Your Eyes this week in a small club had the same hippy feel as a '60s love-in, and they had a surprise for the crowd.
"It was all our buddies playing, which was really fun," says Marcus.
"it was the first time we played for more than half an hour! We played two new songs; one is really country and one of them is a bit more hard. It's got electric guitar."
The songs on their EP are relatively new, and seem surprisingly wise for a songwriter in his early 20s.
"I wrote the first one last August and we started putting it all together as a band in November," recalls Marcus.
"Roll Away Your Stone was written in a car on the way from Nashville to Denver. We were driving through the night, it was pitch black and there were the most amazing stars," he says.
Whilst all the members play for other artists, most notably Laura Marling, Marcus says they take inspiration from each show.
"Every time I get to play with or watch Laura, it's inspiring," he explains.
"Laura is much further along than we were. I was just starting to write songs properly when I met her, and she has been a real inspiration along with a whole bunch of other bands."