‘Help(2)’ producer James Ford reveals Damon Albarn’s “main stipulation” for album
James Ford, the producer for the new War Child album Help(2), has revealed the “main stipulation” Damon Albarn had for taking part in the record.
The producer was speaking in a new interview on X-Posure with John Kennedy on Radio X after the release of the album on March 6th, where he peeled back the curtain on the process of making the album alongside so many huge names including the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, and Olivia Rodrigo.
When it came to Albarn, however, Ford explained how he managed to get the Gorillaz frontman to return to the project, having contributed on the first Help album back in 1995.
“I approached Damon about doing something for this record as well,” Ford said, adding, “Obviously, he was involved in the first record. Yeah, [I] sort of asked him quite directly if he could write a song for it, really. And, you know, he’s very gung-ho in that respect.”
Despite this, the producer went on to reveal Albarn’s conditions for taking part in the new album. “But one of his main stipulations was he wanted it to be this kind of collaborative affair that didn’t necessarily centre him so much,” Ford said.
“And so, we put our thinking caps on and approached Grian [Chatten] and Kae [Tempest], and they were immediately very up for it, but then also thought it was a great opportunity considering we had Abbey Road studio two to get together a bit of an all-star band,” he added.
As such, the resultant song ‘Flags’, which was released as a single prior to the album, features a range of voices including Ezra Collective, Portishead’s Aid Utley, Johnny Marr, and Jarvis Cocker.
Ford also noted that the inclusion of a children’s choir was an idea that Albarn was “very keen” to encompass in the song, since the entire genesis of the album is to raise money so War Child can aid young people trapped in conflict zones.
In an exclusive interview with Far Out, Rich Clarke, the Head of Music at War Child, explained: “The desire to do another record has been bubbling for at least a decade,” adding, “I think a lot of people’s entry point [was the ‘95 record], that really created the legacy and credibility of everything we’ve done with music over the last 30 years.”
Listen to James Ford’s interview on X-Posure with John Kennedy on Radio X tonight from 23:00-02:00, across the UK and on Global Player.
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