From: London, UK

Who: Mumford & Sons: Marcus Mumford (vocals, guitar, bass drum, and tambourine strapped to his foot), Ben Lovett (keyboards), Country Winston (banjo, dobro, electric guitar) and Ted Dwane (bass)

The Scoop: Mumford & Sons have the real potential for producing my debut album of the year. They are a collection of instruments & personalities who come together for a rousing good time with a big gutsy alt folk sound. This is a scene in London that has been bubbling under for a couple of years and it is likely that this band is going to be the champions of it to the wider world.

I have to make clear that banjos & bluegrass have no place in my listening repertoire but Mumford & Sons have changed that. The key to that change is the songwriting & storytelling which is so strong that it draws you in to the circle around the campfire to warm your ears with the magic coming from there. A couple of tracks to look our for are 'White Blank Page' & 'Little Lion Man'.

The debut album is Sigh No More and has been produced by Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire, Bjork, The Maccabees). It gets a UK release in a couple of weeks & scheduled for mid October in NZ

Shuffle with: Ray Lamontagne, Noah & The Whale, Frank Turner, Elbow, Jeff Buckley

Play on: Saturday afternoon with a beverage & allow the kids to dance themselves senseless

Links: myspace