Simply put, ford. is personal. His music strikes you deeply and effectively. At 21 years of age, the young up and coming producer Luc Bradford aka ford. has made the most out of the last few years. Since signing with ODESZA’s record label Foreign Family Collective in 2018, ford. has amassed over 35M+ streams on his debut album (The) Evening, secured spots on Spotify’sGlobal Viral Charts & US New Music Friday, played Coachella, been hailed by Billboard as an artist to watch out for and most recently found the prestige of becoming a Grammy nominated artist for his remix of Mild Minds’ “SWIM.”
Born in Paris from American parents, raised in Frankfurt, Switzerland, Singapore and now residing in Utah, ford.’s eclectic upbringing has been instrumental in shaping his musical perspective. At the age of 15 ford. began producing music through an online audio software“Audio Tool.” Shortly after, he was introduced to a facebook group of young SoundCloud producers from all over the world sharing everything from producer tips, to music marketing, to even what to watch out for in a label contract. Luc attributes the foundation of his music career to the ideas and friends he made through this group. These critical life experiences of connecting with different cultures, ideas, languages, and people are felt deeply through ford.’s music — a sound which even the most passive of listeners can hear and feel an emotive connection resonating throughout his music.
In 2021, ford. returned with his sophomore album The Color of Nothing. While the first album serendipitously came together ford. has a much clearer vision from the outset with this new record, one which pays close attention to small textures and digs its teeth into multiple genres. ford. Followed up with The Color of Nothing (Reprise) in 2021 along with the announcement of his headline USA tour in the fall.
FRANKIE SALT INTERVIEW WITH FORD
Please tell us where you are from & a weird/wonderful fact about Utah…
Most of my extended family is from Utah but I actually grew up outside the US until I graduated high school and moved to UT for college. It’s not the liveliest of places but we are lucky to be surrounded by some big ass mountains which provide for lots of fun hiking trails. A weird fact about Utah? State food is Jello.
Is there something inspiring about where you currently live? Or perhaps a cool experience/day trip to be had?
A lot of my sophomore album that I just put out was inspired by the nature surrounding me in Utah. River spots and canyon trails were the places I went to clear my head or ground myself which was pretty integral for my mental wellbeing.
Whilst not being able to tour mysterious lands abroad, have you found some wicked places to explore locally?
Yeah, I remember we took this like 4 day trip to Idaho. It was like a 3 hour drive so I guess you could call it local but it was way out in the middle of nowhere. There wasn’t much going on out there but it was nice to get away from everything for a second.
In the past, what has been your favourite place in the US to play at & why? Or tell us about your upcoming tour..
Surprisingly enough I have always felt so unbelievably welcome in Chicago. House of Blues was actually the first venue I ever played at in my life so I’ve been really fortunate to always get such a warm welcome every time I come through.
Throughout 2020 into 2021, have you learned a new skill? Used a new app? What has been keeping you active & stimulated during lockdown?
I’ve started really getting into breath work this past year! It’s played a big role in helping me start my days feeling clear minded. If anyone is into that kind of thing, I recommend the Wim Hof app, it is good stuff.
Please tell us about your recent album & the inspiration behind it…
I put out my sophomore album in October of 2020. The album itself is really just a culmination and reflection of my experiences throughout the past couple years. With so much change in my life I felt like music was one thing that helped bring me back to my center and this album is a result of that exploration into myself.
