Mumford & Sons have announced they're very proud to share a new set of recordings entitled Johannesburg, made with Baaba Maal, Beatenberg and The Very Best, out today. The mini album was recorded in Studio 2 and the Auditorium of the South African Broadcasting Corporation,
Johannesburg in February over two all-day and all-night sessions and produced by Mumford & Sons and The Very Best's Swedish electronic music maestro, Johan Hugo.
A.V. Club said "The London foursome go to admirable lengths to acknowledge and showcase their collaborators, making Johannesburg a true partnership rather than a novelty by faux-worldly hotshots...Johannesburg's thrills develop as the band participates in and gently incorporates something unfamiliar-without claiming ownership of it."
Mumford & Sons reveal that "Going to South Africa felt to us to be an adventure into a continent that none of us knew well. The appetite for live music is huge and the youth culture is exploding with energy and rejuvenation."
A.V. Club describes that the band is "quick to admit to taking the backseat in many ways, [but] these songs conspicuously carry their stamp. "There Will Be Time" and "Ngamila" follow the band's omnipresent drama-building, soft-loud format, lurching from a delicate intro to a belted, passionate chorus. "Wona" initially borrows from Vampire Weekend with its bright Afropop guitar lines, but eventually works in Mumford & Sons' recent affection for arena rock. And the slick, coolly catchy "Fool You've Landed" is a refreshing break from the band's mold in every way. Keeping things
grounded in the record's continental surroundings are compelling vocal additions from Baaba Maal and traditional chants and harmonies throughout."