WONGIE COLLABORATION OF THE WEEK: mumford & sons, baaba maal, the very best, beatenberg - wona

mumford & sons, baaba maal, the very best, beatenberg - wona
recorded over a two day period while on tour in south africa, mumford & sons gathered together the amazingly talented baaba maal, the very best and beatenberg to write the just released EP johannesburg. treating it like a creative summit, the tracks from this session are at once celebratory of everyone's differences and the power of how music really has no language barrier. to be honest, i haven't been excited about mumford & sons in awhile, but this collection gives me much hope of their musical direction and openness.

wanna hear more? check out this live version of there will be time from the wonderful johannesburg EP:

mumford & sons, baaba maal and the very best - there will be time (live in south africa)

VIDEO PREMIERE: mumford & sons - the wolf / belive (live performance)

mumford & sons - the wolf
[UPDATE] now with a live performance video which makes this song more bearable. i guess this album needs to be heard live instead of the studio version.

THIS IS WHAT I WROTE LAST WEEK:
so the song isn't bad and marcus sounds pretty rocking. but it's just kind of too easy to criticize this band for trying out a new sound for themselves and coming out kind of derivative (cough... foo fighters... cough). sigh...

want more? check out mumford and sons on SNL over the weekend:

mumford & sons - believe (live @ snl)
once again, this song sounds SO much better live!

AUDIO PREMIERE: mumford & sons - believe

mumford & sons - believe
first single off the upcoming new album 'wilder mind', this is a definite new direction for the ex-stomp along troubadours. falling more under coldplay/ u2 aspirations, i'm on the fence if i like this at all (though the banjo sing a longs were getting tired too). hopefully the rest of the album will convince me otherwise.

CELEBRITY VIDEO: mumford & sons - hopeless wanderer

mumford & sons - hopeless wanderer
it's wonderful to see jason bateman, will forte, ed helms and jason sudeikis doing a tribute/mock of the band (especially doing some serious banjo bootie shakin and making out). if all videos from now on will feature this spinal tappery, i might even go back to being an uber fan!

WEEKEND INDIE CATCH UP: mumford and sons - babel

mumford and sons - babel
it's a visual loop for mumford and co as they bring their latest single to the masses.

LIVE PERFORMANCE: mumford and sons feat vampire weekend, the vaccines, first aid kit, the staves and guests - help from my friends (live @ glastonbury 2013)

mumford and sons feat vampire weekend, the vaccines, first aid kit, the staves and guests - help from my friends (live @ glastonbury 2013)
bringing up a slew of guests to close out glasto 2013, mumford and sons proved their headlining status to the world over the weekend with this joe cocker version of the beatles classic. impressive.

NEW MUMFORD!: mumford and sons - whispers in the dark

mumford and sons - whispers in the dark
i have to admit that i'm kind of over this album for it's sameness, so really this is just for the fans (which i used to be a hardcore one... these days, mildly curious which leads to meh-ness).

INDIE CATCH UP: mumford & sons - lover of the light

mumford and sons - lover of the light
directed by the very talented idris elba, this golden globe winning actor (luther) offers his skills for mumford and sons' latest single from the record breaking album 'babel'.

WONGIE SONG OF THE WEEK: mumford & sons - i will wait

mumford & sons - i will wait
they're baaaaaaaaack!!!!! though there's no mumford stomp in sight, it sure is a rowdy hoe down instead! can't wait to hear more!

WONGIE FOLK SONG OF THE WEEK: king charles feat mumford and sons - the brightest lights

king charles feat mumford and sons - the brightest lights
[sing along folks cause this is the only mumford related anthem you'll have all summer! plus the kooky king charles ain't half bad himself!]

NEW MUMFORD & SONS!: mumford & sons - untitled new song

mumford and sons - untitled new song
[this live performance was recorded a few months back during one of the grammy pre-parties and finally offered up to fans two weeks ago. though there is no name to the track just yet, it does preview the fact that the mumford boys will not be straying too far from their tried and true sound for their 2nd album. not complaining at all, just can't wait to hear more!]

WONGIE SONG OF THE MONTH: ellie goulding - your song (elton john cover) (john lewis xmas theme ad)

ellie goulding - your song (elton john cover) (john lewis xmas theme ad)
[how awesome that UK dept. store john lewis decided to use ellie's cover of the classic elton track for their christmas ad campaign. not only is it a big push for the singer, but this new take, produced by mumford and sons' ben lovett is just simply amazing! forget the x-factor xmas #1, lets make this gorgeous take the UK's #1 instead!]

here is the ad that ellie's song is used for:

WONGIE FOLK SONG OF THE WEEK: johnny flynn and laura marling - water

johnny flynn and laura marling - water
[thanks to npr's song of the day, i got myself acquainted with this gorgeous duet by the ever amazing laura marling and fellow troubadour johnny flynn. off of johnny's new album 'been listening', the video was shot in laura's back garden and is just too sweet for words.]

want more? check out this live take of this lovely song featuring marcus mumford last january

johnny flynn feat marcus mumford - water (live @ kentish town forum)

WONGIE SONG OF THE WEEK: mumford and sons - white blank page (live @ bookshop sessions)

mumford and sons - white blank page (live @ bookshop sessions)
[since there isn't an official video for this wonderful current single, i'm going to post a acoustic performance the mumfords did in a bookstore last year. love love LOVE this song (and album) a year onwards!]

WONGIE COVER OF THE WEEK: mumford and sons - wagon wheel (old crow medicine show cover)

mumford and sons - wagon wheel (old crow medicine show cover)
[of course they love the old crow medicine show! what a lovely cover from the bbc radio 2 sessions]

WONGIE DOC: mumford and sons - gentlemen of the road (dir: fred & nick)

[for the past year, fred&nick have been following mumford and sons on various points of their whirlwind travels and collected the experiences into a lovely doc called 'gentlemen of the road'. the boys are well represented and loved here within this doc that just showcases how talented and normal they are as they become more and more successful. sigh...]

mumford and sons - gentlemen of the road (part 1)


part 2

LIVE WONGIE: mumford and sons feat dharohar project - to darkness / lover of the light (live)

[as we reported earlier, mumford and sons went with laura marling last year on a 5 city tour of india. while there, they did a cultural recording project with the rajasthani folk collective dharohar project, reworking each others songs which were then released last week on itunes. the result is not only captivating, but further showcases the talents of these acts. check out the extended clip of their journey from the upcoming doc goodbye india below:]

goodbye india
if you like what you see, the guardian has another scene from the doc. just remember to come back!]


mumford and sons feat dharohar project - to darkness
[just sublime. i'm sure the live version would be amazing!]


mumford and sons - lover of the light (live @ bangalore)
[while on tour, mumford offered up a new song for their audience. the song is just epic!]

LIVE WONGIE: laura marling feat dharohar project - meheni rachi / devil's spoke sneh ko marg (live)

goodbye india (trailer)
[last year, singer songwriter laura marling went with mumford and sons to india to record a cultural exchange EP with the rajasthani folk collective dharohar project. the result is not only an interesting doc called 'goodbye india', but a 4 track EP featuring the collaboration. check out of the tracks performed live below!]


laura marling feat dharohar project - meheni rachi


larua marling feat dharohar project - devil's spoke / snrh ko marg (live)
[here's a live audio of another of the collaborations. lovely! to watch more of the experience for laura, check out her site for vids!]

LIVE WONGIE: mumford & sons - the banjolin song / awake my soul (la blogotheque take away show)

mumford & sons - the banjolin song / awake my soul (la blogotheque take away show)
[goosebumps! just goosebumps, then tears of joy. i'm such a dork for the mumford vocal soar! then watch them serenade a local in french! ]

LIVE WONGIE: mumford & sons - little lion man (live @ cd 101)

mumford & sons - little lion man (live @ cd 101)
[it's kind of nice coming back to a band that you've already watched twice, lived the album for a whole two seasons and basically moved on from. i've seen countless versions of this anthemic song but it cool to see that mumford and co have added some nice arrangements to their performance to spice up the song even more. wongie still hearts mumford and sons!]