TN:175 Mumford & Sons and Aaron Dessner

TN:175 Mumford & Sons and Aaron Dessner

From Tape Notes by In The Woods

February 25, 2026 · 1h 51m

About this episode

John interviews Mumford & Sons and Aaron Dessner about the creation of their album 'Prizefighter'.

In this episode, John is joined by Mumford & Sons and producer Aaron Dessner to discuss how they wrote, recorded and produced the album ‘Prizefighter’. Mumford & Sons are a British folk-rock band made up of Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett and Ted Dwane, who rose to global fame with their banjo-driven folk rock, earning BRIT and Grammy success with the records ‘Sigh No More’ and ‘Babel’. Their latest album, ‘Prizefighter', was co-written and co-produced with Aaron Dessner, and features collaborations with Hozier, Gracie Abrams, Gigi Perez and Chris Stapleton, with the band embracing a new creative freedom in the process. Sitting down with Marcus at his Scarlet Pimpernel studio, John and the band discuss how the album unexpectedly grew out of collaboration, and how the process left them feeling more creatively free than ever. They also dig into why the right mic isn’t always the most expensive one, Aaron’s techniques for recording guitars, how they created the album’s distinctive synth sounds and much more! Tracks discussed: Here, Prizefighter, Conversation With My Son (Gangsters & Angels) TAPE IT Thanks to our friends at Tape It for supporting the podcast. Visit tape.it/tapenotes or…

People in this episode

Host: John

Guests: Marcus Mumford, Aaron Dessner

Topics covered

  • album production
  • collaboration
  • creative freedom
  • music recording techniques
  • folk-rock

Keywords

  • Mumford & Sons
  • Aaron Dessner
  • Prizefighter
  • album production
  • music collaboration
  • recording techniques

Sponsors

Tape It

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mumford & Sons

Books & works: Prizefighter, Sigh No More, Babel

More episodes of Tape Notes

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Tape Notes podcast page.