James Ellis Ford, formerly one half of Simian Mobile Disco, has signed to Domino Records and will release his new album Lost in Another World on August 14. The record was written during rounds of chemotherapy for myeloid leukemia (AML), with his wife bringing
James Ellis Ford recorded his new album while his body was still learning how to fight back.
He used to be one half of Simian Mobile Disco. and for years he’s worked as a producer behind releases by Arctic Monkeys. Florence + the Machine. Fontaines D.C. and more. Now. the artist has announced his signing to Domino Records and the release of his new album. Lost in Another World. arriving August 14. Alongside the news, he’s shared a new single, ‘Overtones.’.
The making of the album wasn’t built in a studio calendar so much as in the in-between moments of hospital life. Ford made Lost in Another World over two weeks in early 2025. while he was in the hospital between rounds of chemotherapy following a diagnosis of myeloid leukemia (AML). an aggressive cancer of the white blood cells.
Sereen, his wife, bought him a fold-away IKEA bedside table so he could put some synths on. Hospital staff got used to the rhythm of his sessions too: taking his blood pressure while he was laying down tracks. Ford remembers the process with a blunt kind of relief. “There was no filter,” he recalled. “I just sang the first thing that came into my head into the laptop.”.
For him, it wasn’t just recording. It was survival through sound. “It was a pep talk; I was telling myself I was going to be OK,” he continued. “It was one way of dealing with the existential dread I felt. It gave me the ammunition to fight the experience and was a distraction from it.”
This release lands with more than personal weight. Earlier this year, Ford executive produced the War Child benefit compilation HELP(2).
Lost in Another World follows a tracklist that reads like a map of persistence—starting with ‘Overtones’ and moving through songs including ‘People Just Don’t Know. ’ ‘Til Our Days Are Gone. ‘Here Today. ’ and ‘Parallel Dimension.’ It also includes ‘Silver Lining. ’ ‘I Believe In You. ’ and ‘This Too Shall Pass. ’ before arriving at ‘Homesick For Another World. ’ ‘The Ever After. ’ and ‘Did You Ever Want To Go To Your Own Funeral?’ The final stretch closes with ‘This Will All Be A Memory Soon.’.
The album’s central detail is hard to ignore because it explains the mood before you even press play: two weeks. early 2025. and a laptop full of first thoughts—recorded between chemotherapy rounds—turned into an entire world. When ‘Overtones’ drops. it carries the sound of someone making a promise to himself and keeping it. one take at a time.
James Ellis Ford Domino Records Lost in Another World Overtones Simian Mobile Disco AML myeloid leukemia War Child HELP(2) music news
August 14?? that’s pretty soon. also chemo songwriting is wild.
Wait so this guy is from that Simian Mobile Disco band right? I thought Domino was like… only rock stuff. but I guess cancer makes everyone electronic now.
“No filter”?? like he literally didn’t edit anything? I mean I get it’s hospital stuff but my question is how are you gonna record synths on an IKEA table while doing chemo, wouldn’t that be a hazard
Two weeks in early 2025 and they’re calling it leukemia “white blood cells” like everyone knows the details… I’m just confused why the album title is “Lost in Another World” when it sounds like he was in the same one the whole time. Still, War Child compilation being connected is cool I guess. I’ll probably listen just to see if it’s like a motivational pep talk track.