How is the new album put together?

After the festivals last summer I started to work on the follow up to "I am..." at home. I have a small studio (paid for by the student loans company...) where I could start to put together ideas at my own pace. I was very clear about the kind of debut I wanted to make from the outset, but the hard part was solidifying those ideas into actual music. The album you hear on CD actually came together very quickly, but it was preceded by hundreds of false starts and discarded ideas which is what took the time. When I was nearly done, I moved to Britannia Row in Islington where the Afrocelts have a studio and mixed the album with Simon Emmerson and Mass.

On the album you play every except the drums. Is there anything you can’t play?

I actually play drums on the album as well! I started out as a drummer in bands before taking up guitar/singing, but I haven't played much recently so some of the important drum tracks were played by Laurence Hunt from the lo-fi band 'Pram'. I also had some guest string players and a jazz trumpeter come in, but otherwise all the instruments are played by me. A lot of the time if I wanted, say, a melodeon on a track I'd borrow the instrument and learn how to play the part I wanted rather than get someone in. There are a lot of clever edits certainly...

The album cover is fantastic where did you get the idea from?

The credit for the cover has to go to david and david who designed all of the packaging. The inside covers are even better... We got together in a pub round the corner from the rehearsals for the big session one evening to discuss ideas, and then I went off on tour and left them to it. To do the actual photography they took me off to the woods and made me do odd things for an afternoon without really explaining it. It was only when I saw the finished pictures I understood...

What's the launch date of the new Album?

The album is released on June 30th.

What other festivals are you booked to play this year?

I'm playing at (deep breath) Beverley, Bromyard, Crawley, Priddy, Sidmouth, Galway, Trowbridge, Dranouter (in Belgium), Bridgnorth, Mariposa + Winnipeg (both in Canada) and Middlewich.

What gave you the idea to take a fresh new approach to folk?

There is really nothing unusual about what I do at a base level - traditional music has always been about taking the things you hear around you and making them into your own music. I just try to be true to these songs and play them in a way that appeals to me as someone who listens to a lot of music. Before Andy Irvine for example, the bouzouki was a Greek instrument that had nothing at all to do with the Irish tradition. It's the same with me and turntables with hip-hop breaks, or pro-tools or whatever.

Who would you most like to collaborate with musically…and why?

I'd love to watch Kate Bush work - it would be good to be invisible and just sit in the corner of her studio. Other than that I'd love to do something with a electronic musician called Guy Sigsworth. Or PJ Harvey. Or preferably both on the same track.