Marcus Mumford has said he used to see albums as ‘adverts for live shows’ before getting advice from Neil Young ten years ago.
The singer and songwriter has been the frontman of folk-rock group Mumford & Sons since the band’s inception in 2007.
The Mumford and Sons frontman said that a conversation with Neil Young changed his perspective on the process of recording music.
"Neil Young sat me down about 10 years ago and told me the importance of recorded music, and that I should pay more attention to the way in which we record because I was always [like], ‘Ah, it’s just an advert for a live show,” he told NME in a recent interview.
"He was like, ‘No man, these things last.’
The Mumford and Sons frontman, who will release his first solo album (self-titled) on Friday (16 September) said that this advice has particularly affected his forthcoming project.
I felt like on this record, I listened to that [advice],” he said.
"I paid closer attention to the way it sounded than anything I’d ever done before."
The news comes after Mumford recently revealed that he experienced sexual abuse as a child.
In the preparation for his album release, the musician spoke about the inspiration behind his new work.
Speaking to GQ Hype about a forthcoming song named “Cannibal”, Mumford explained that the track was how his mother learned about traumatic experiences that occurred when he was six.
“Like lots of people – and I’m learning more and more about this as we go and as I play it to people – I was sexually abused as a child,” he said. “Not by family and not in the church, which might be some people’s assumption. But I hadn’t told anyone about it for 30 years.”
He explained that the track “had to” be the first one on his new record, as it was his way of not apologising for what he’d been through.
(self-titled) is out on Friday 16 September.
