English music producer James Ellis Ford has released a new single, “Squeaky Wheel”, ahead of the release of his debut album, The Hum. The album, set to be released on May 12th, will be the first solo project Staffordshire-born Ford has worked on, having previously collaborated with other artists in a producer role and as a band member, and will thus see him embark on his very own musical journey wherein he can focus on exactly what he wants to do with his music in his own way.
‘Squeaky Wheel’ – new from James Ellis Ford
Listen now ↓https://t.co/NMnXeW6HdF
— Warp Records (@WarpRecords) April 12, 2023
Ford initiated his music career in 2000 as a founding member of rock band Simian before teaming up with Jas Shaw from the aforementioned group and forming the spin-off duo Simian Mobile Disco in 2003, this time with a focus on electronic music. The duo have enjoyed a fair deal of success since, even amassing somewhat of a cult following, but have been on hiatus ever since Shaw was diagnosed with AL amyloidosis in 2018, which has in turn afforded Ford the chance to think about producing music solo on his own terms.
Watch the video for “It’s The Beat”, the lead single from Simian Mobile Disco’s first album Attack Decay Sustain Release, below:
Ford is also a founding member of The Last Shadow Puppets, formed in 2008 with Alex Turner, Miles Kane and Zach Dawes, yet his musical exploits do not stop there. He has producing credits on 55 albums, most notably Klaxon’s Myths of the Near Future (2007), Florence and the Machine’s Ceremonials (2011), Gorillaz’ The Now Now (2016), and all of Artic Monkeys’ records to date, and plays a multitude of instruments on many, mainly on drums, keyboard and percussion.
Quite the CV then. With this quite frankly stupendous amount of musical prowess Ford naturally sets the bar sky high, and fans of Simian Mobile Disco and The Last Shadow Puppets, and possibly even Artic Monkeys themselves, will undoubtedly be tremendously excited by what Ford has to offer in his first solo outing.
If we are to judge the rest of the album by the two singles released from it already (“I Never Wanted Anything” is the other track), we should expect dreamy, partly funky, partly Pink Floyd-esque vibes. Tape loops are used immaculately in both songs, lending an ethereal touch that allows them to float on and along flawlessly whilst simultaneously giving the tracks a satisfying cohesive arc.
Listen to “Squeaky Wheel” below:
Pre-order your copy of The Hum now here.
