How Arctic Monkeys producer James Ford overcame cancer to make uplifting solo album
Renowned music producer James Ford recorded a solo album while undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia. The project served as a creative outlet during his recovery in a hospital ward.
Why it matters
The story highlights the intersection of creative expression and personal resilience during severe health crises.
James Ford made his new solo album from a hospital ward between punishing rounds of chemotherapy treatment. ( Supplied: Dan Wilton )
Link copied Share Share article Best known for producing records for blockbuster British artists Arctic Monkeys, Florence + The Machine, Blur, Pulp and Jessie Ware, James Ford has stepped out from behind the console for a solo album made under extreme circumstances.
"I'd been ill since Christmas [2024] and under the weather so much that I could barely think or do anything," Ford tells Double J's Tom Ravenscroft.
By the following April, he was admitted to hospital and undergoing chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), an aggressive form of cancer with an average survival rate of 30 per cent .
Recovering between rounds of chemotherapy, waiting as his "immune system comes back online", Ford's energy slowly returned.
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