“In the midst of life, we are in death.” These were just words to James Ford as he grew up, heard at funeral services he attended whilst those being spoken of were committed to whatever comes next. Then on Christmas Eve 2024 everything changed; suffering from what at first seemed like a debilitating fever, he was eventually diagnosed with leukemia and told that he had a roughly fifty percent chance of survival. In his forties and with a wife and young son, the diagnosis hit him square on.
First coming to prominence in the noughties with Jas Shaw as one half of Simian Mobile Disco, Ford has gone on to become one of the eminent producers of his generation, working with a stellar list of artists from establishment icons like the Arctic Monkeys to the Pet Shop Boys to up and comers such as Geese, The Last Dinner Party and Fat Dog. Prevented from much hospital visitation and understandably questioning much, he eventually persuaded his wife to bring in some equipment so as he might reconnect with his reason for being. Lost In Another World is the result.
It would’ve been more than forgivable had this been a record with a grain or two of self pity running through it. Instead whilst the low key synth tones and processed vocals don’t always offer a comfortable ride – on Parallel Dimension the experience is laid bare with ‘I’m trusting in the process/But it really fucking hurts’ – there is a touching intimacy to ‘Til Our Days Are Gone and Did You Ever Want To Go To Your Own Funeral? asks a question rarely posed in the history of music. Lost In Another World is one man’s journal written whilst poised between life and death, an act of bravery which is reason enough of itself for it to exist.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 