James Ellis Ford (born 11 December 1978) is an English record producer and songwriter, known for being a member of Simian Mobile Disco and the Last Shadow Puppets as well as his production work with Arctic Monkeys, Blur, Depeche Mode, Foals, Florence and the Machine, Haim, Gorillaz, Klaxons, Jessie Ware, Kylie Minogue and the Pet Shop Boys.
Biography
James Ellis Ford was born on 11 December 1978 in Staffordshire. Ford went to Manchester University, along with other members of Simian.
Ford was a founding member of the group Simian and later a member the spin-off duo Simian Mobile Disco.
He produced the Klaxons album Myths of the Near Future in 2007 which won the Mercury Prize. He also played drums on the album. Also that year, he produced the Arctic Monkeys second album. He has done at least part of the production on each of the band's subsequent albums. He played guitar on Arctic Monkeys' "Only Ones Who Know".
In 2008, he formed the Last Shadow Puppets with Miles Kane and Alex Turner, as both drummer and producer. Their debut album, The Age of the Understatement, earned the group a Mercury Prize nomination and also charted at No. 1 in the UK. Their second album, Everything You've Come to Expect, was released in 2016. Ford once again produced, also playing drums, percussion and keys. The record earned the group their second UK No. 1.
Ford produced and played keys on Arctic Monkeys' fifth album, AM, released in 2013. His work on the album gained him a further Mercury Prize nomination.
Ford has produced Depeche Mode's 14th studio album Spirit released on 17 March 2017 as well as their 15th studio album Memento Mori, which was released on 24 March 2023. He also produced the fourth studio album of the UK band Everything Everything under the title A Fever Dream, released on 18 August 2017.
In 2018, Ford co-produced the Arctic Monkeys' 6th studio album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, as well as Gorillaz' 6th studio album The Now Now.
On 14 March 2023, it was announced he would be producing Pet Shop Boys' new album. He also produced The Last Dinner Party's first single "Nothing Matters", which was released in April 2023. He also produced Fat Dog’s debut single “King of the Slugs” with the band’s lead singer Joe Love, which was released on the 21st of August 2023. James Ford also produced Blur's 9th studio album, The Ballad of Darren, released in July 2023.
Discography
See Discography: Simian & Simian Mobile Disco
Studio albums
2023 – The Hum (Warp Records)