{"id":206604,"date":"2024-07-18T17:09:42","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T16:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=206604"},"modified":"2024-09-09T18:34:39","modified_gmt":"2024-09-09T17:34:39","slug":"arctic-monkeys-producer-james-ford-on-working-with-blur-the-last-dinner-party-and-more1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/arctic-monkeys-producer-james-ford-on-working-with-blur-the-last-dinner-party-and-more1\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I try and stay out of business conversations. I go on my instinct and my musical taste.’"},"content":{"rendered":"

MBW\u2019s World\u2019s Greatest Producers series sees us interview \u2013 and celebrate \u2013 some of the outstanding talents working in studios across the decades. Here, we speak with British super-producer James Ford about his role as a key creative collaborator with Arctic Monkeys, a crucial link in Blur\u2019s reunion, and much more. World\u2019s Greatest Producers is supported by\u00a0Hipgnosis Song Management<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>\"Music<\/i><\/a><\/figure>

James Ford is well-known for producing Arctic Monkeys. But he could just have easily become notorious for not producing Arctic Monkeys.<\/p>\n

In 2005, Ford was just breaking out as a producer. He\u2019d grown up in Leek, Staffordshire as a music obsessive. His dad played in local bands and, after flute and piano lessons at school and encouragement from a music teacher that would let him bunk off rugby to play the drums, he too joined the local pub circuit.<\/p>\n

After years of \u201ccider, magic mushrooms and playing in weird funk bands\u201d, he went to Manchester for university and formed Simian, who caused quite a buzz on the Noughties indie scene.<\/p>\n

They moved to London but, according to Ford, \u201cfell into the classic thing of trying to keep the label happy on our second record\u2026 We ended up cracking under the pressure and splitting up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simian went on to have a huge posthumous hit with a Justice remix, We Are Your Friends<\/em>, but, at the time, the rest of the band got \u201cproper jobs\u201d, while Ford and keyboard player Jas Shaw formed DJ\/dance music spin-off Simian Mobile Disco. Ford also started producing \u201canyone and everyone who would have me\u201d.<\/p>\n

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