How James Ford Turned a Hospital Ward into a Studio While Fighting Leukaemia

In April 2024, James Ford – the producer behind Arctic Monkeys, Florence + The Machine, Blur, Pulp and Jessie Ware – was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia and started a course of chemotherapy.

During his stay at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, his wife brought a minimal set‑up to his bedside, allowing him to write and record his solo album Lost In Another World in just two weeks.

The record contains twelve tracks. Most of them are bright, built around playful analogue synths, and were meant to lift his spirits and capture the feeling of being in treatment.

Ford shared short musical sketches with friends such as Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner and singer‑songwriter Bill Ryder‑Jones for feedback, and later asked another engineer to mix the album so it would remain a raw snapshot of that period.

The finished album was released under his full name, James Ellis Ford, and is now available to listeners, showing how severe health challenges can force an artist to work within strict limits and still create something authentic.

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