We were lucky to catch up with Christian Ford recently and have shared our conversation below.
Christian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
When I first started producing music, I learned by literally just playing with the DAW I was working on at the time, which was Fruity Loops or FL Studio whichever you’d like to call it. I would click on buttons and turn knobs on the DAW and see what they would do. Eventually me and my boy Frank started to figure out how things worked in the DAW.
I think surrounding myself with like minded people who were also music producers and recording artists would have been a shortcut to learn extra techniques and would have sped up the process.
I feel like the skill that was most essential was and always will be learning patience. Usually, it takes time for us to get to where we believe / know where we can go. I know with the skills we have + patience and also persistence: no matter what industry you’re in, we can complete goals and push for the best outcome.
Any obstacles we face, are all in the mind. I remember I felt like I was stuck for whatever reason and couldn’t find out how to shake off whatever it was… My guy AMG said to me one day, “Change the way you think”. Once I changed however I was thinking at that time, there were no more obstacles that stood in the way of learning more. I started to learn how to change things I can control and accept the things I couldn’t change.
Christian, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Christian Ford, I’m from Los Angeles, California, and I am a Musician turned into Music Producer, Recording Artist, Songwriter, and Audio Engineer. I’ve always been into music, from my parents playing 94.7 The Wave while driving to a family members house on a holiday to my brother playing music from Lil. Wayne, Kurupt, to Dj Quik even though I probably wasn’t supposed to be listening to that type of music while we were younger.
I got into the industry of creating music by getting tired of playing the same church songs on the organ at church every Sunday. lol I felt like there were a lot of other styles and sounds I can be exploring. Once I actually started producing music, I would also create demos / rough drafts / ideas of songs that people heard from me, and soon asked have I finished the song. Even though it wasn’t my intention to finish those ideas, I was really just enjoying my creative space and creating. Since there were multiple people who asked me to finish up the songs, I went back to work and created my first project entitled “Listen To My Thoughts” (LTMT). Continuing to work on music, going out meeting new people and networking got me to where I was able to learn from THX and Ricc Rude, where I learned how to Engineer a recording session professionally (making sure the artists is happy with the songs by the end of the session). I then started to record myself and use similar techniques I’ve learned to use for other artists. It was then where discipline had to kick in, for me to have the goals to complete songs and record my 2nd project entitled “Love” by myself. Shortly after the release of “Love” I got a placement with TeeFLii featuring Nipsey Hussle on a song called Overtime on AnnyRUOtay 2. Around that time I met AMG and Greedy Greg soon making songs with AMG. Years later AMG brought me to a studio in Hollywood and introduced me to Dj Quik, D Blake, and Hi- C. I eventually got signed to Dj Quik as a Recording Artists and went on tour covering multiple states and even Shanghai, China. Learning the ins and outs of being on the road was a second nature to me. Quik has taught me probably more than he thinks, which I am super grateful for. I learned about contract agreements, the art of mixing and mastering, interviewing on podcast / radio, sound check and show set ups, stage presence, how to deal with excited fans etc.
My super power is to take potential and turn it into the best it can be. The services I provide are producing music for artists / film / television / businesses. Audio engineering a session whether I’m actually recording the vocals / instruments or mixing / mastering the session. I pretty much make your music go from sounding like it’s just a hobby to a total professional sound. What sets me apart from others is at the end of the day, I want what’s best for the music. NO EGO ATTACHED.
I am mostly proud that 20+ years later, I am still creating the music I love. I’m also proud of my Love by Christian Ford merchandise I started in 2013, reminding people to love and be loved unconditionally. You can find some of our product on www.lovebychristianford.com *New Designs Coming Soon!
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Yes, there are a few books I am actually still reading now!
Music Marketing – Press, Promotion, Distribution, and Retail
Mike King
The War of Art – Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Steven Pressfield
Do The Work
Steven Pressfield
Turning Pro – Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life’s Work
Steven Pressfield
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook – How To Tell Your Story In A Noisy Social World
Gary Vaynerchuk
The 5am Club – Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life
Robin Sharma
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
In my prospective I think society can best support artists and creatives by ensuring economic stability for creators.
ie: Expand public arts funding at the local, state and national levels. Support royalty models, including FAIR compensation through streaming platforms and secondary sales ( NFT Royalties, Sync Licensing.) Normalize paying artists fairly. Fund and maintain community art centers, performance spaces, galleries, and creative spaces. Prioritize arts education, Encouraging new methods of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math). Strengthening the knowledge of legal agreements and Understanding how to get compensated by taking the correct steps of having a PRO and other royalty collecting agencies, are just a few of many!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lovebychristianford.com
- Instagram: christianfordcf
- Facebook: christianfordcf
- Twitter: christianfordcf
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@christianfordcf
- Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/christianfordcf
Image Credits
Joseph, Kenya, Visual Thought, Gabe Ginsberg, Vita Visuals