Francesca Larcombe chats to Sam Beam, better known as Iron and Wine, before his triumphant Edinburgh show.

Hands in lap, beard flowing, and with a voice as soft as a whisper, Sam Beam seems about as far away from an American star as you could possibly imagine. His latest collection of soul-searching, lo-fi folk tunes has put Iron & Wine back on the road again. Kiss Each Other Clean, his fourth album, is by far his most distinctive yet.

Polite, unassuming and somehow, despite the odd look and chubby cheeks, devilishly handsome – his soft southern drawl seems to hang like honey on the end of every word. It is easy to see why men and women the world over have fallen for his deep and complex love lyrics, plucky string guitars and stories from the southern half of the continental United States.

Having left his sleepy home town in South Carolina, Beam's life was primarily focussed on art and film, studying in California and Miami, where he later went on to be a professor. "The name Iron & Wine was taken from this supplement stuff I saw in the supermarket once whilst filming". He explains, "I just thought it was an interesting use of words – the sweet with the sour, the good with the bad."

Many miles from the fickle world of fame and celebrity, it would appear that Beam's greatest interest and musical inspiration is people. Every song tells a story for this husband and father of five, and surprisingly, it's one that's not always his own. "It's all made up", he chuckles.  "You know, you're trying to put parts of your life in it here and there just to sort of tie yourself into the song but yeah, I like to spin a yarn."

Furthermore, the bounty of religious references present in nearly all of his records has the listener constantly grappling to make sense of the writer's intention, one which he is none too keen to reveal. Jesus as a punk in Me and Lazarus, the lion and the lamb  "fucking in the corner" in Big Burned Hands – the references are endless. Love it or hate it, religion is a part of his tale, unsurprising perhaps when you consider the folk man's stomping grounds, growing up in part of the ubiquitous Bible Belt of middle America. Presume at your peril, however, that this maketh the man."I think your life in general, wherever you go influences your music. You pick up on the culture there, whether that means their morality or just the food they eat."

Quoted as saying that his 2007 offering, The Shepherd's Dog, was inspired by George W. Bush's oft-criticised second term in the White House, Beam shies away from the idea of his work as political propaganda. "That whole thing was kinda blown outta proportion. It was not so much about the politics, just more this kinda realisation that the people I knew and the things I believed in weren't quite the way they seemed. That's kinda sobering for anybody."

Desperate to avoid "putting out the same record twice", Beam muses over the new direction Kiss Each Other Clean has taken. "You know, a lot of my early songs are love songs, they weren't meant to be yelled, they were kinda quiet and deep. As you go along through life though, the subject matter changes and the sonic palette expands. You just try to keep yourself open and find out new things to explore." Explaining how he "couldn't really get much quieter" following his earlier work, a louder, more layered sound seemed the obvious new direction.

As a result, the new album is intended to sound like "the kinda stuff you would hear in the car on your parent's radio in the '60s and '70s", funky, raw and with a heck of a lot of feeling. "I love that stuff", he beams, "It's what I grew up with, ya know?  I went for that and ten different things at the same time". Being widely akin to the likes of Paul Simon and Nicks/Buckingham Fleetwood Mac, his raspy melodies dressed in electro piano riffs have the pop pack calling. Beam seems perfectly contented with Iron & Wine's new musical direction. If 'selling out' is the serious artist's disease, this man certainly isn't infected.  "That's kinda the idea, to change it up a bit. People would always liken me to Nick Drake, and he's one of my favourite artists, but I kinda defy any acoustic artist to not sound like him!"

Going from one man and a guitar to a seven piece ensemble, his tour band is a menagerie of some of the current and the coolest musicians whom Beam says he "just happened to meet along the way."  The ensemble currently includes Ben Massarella (Califone) and Chad Taylor (Chicago Underground Duo). This new dynamic certainly appears to have  expanded the appeal of Beam's live show: "The good thing about having a big band is you have more options, you can do a big arrangement, or they can stop playing and I can do a solo song because when I do solo shows, that's kinda it. As long as they know what they're getting then it's fine. Then we're all just friends together".

For a man whose accolades include albums in America's biggest billboard charts, songs featured on some of the biggest name adverts on TV and a personal request by Kristen Stewart for his to be the song in Twilight's prom scene, the man is remarkably grounded. "This whole industry's a crazy ride", he admits. Unashamed of going against the rock star grain, he admits, "When I first started doing music it was really just a hobby, but now, you know, I have kids, you can't just fuck around playing music, you have to make a living." Rising from his seat, our interview complete, smiling and shaking hands, he departs with his final, indispensible piece of advice for Edinburgh students: "Good luck", he smiles, "and always say thank you."