Over two years in the making, Luc Bradford better known as ford. is finally pleased to announce the July 21st release of his third album ‘Guiding Hand’ via Foreign Family Collective. The album’s newest single, “The Pace,” is available to stream now. 

Recording for ‘Guiding Hand’ began in late 2020 isolated within the mountains & valleys of Utah. The album came together slowly over the following months with different ideas emerging from life on the road, late night with friends, and a close passing. As Luc likes to note, “the album was developed through rooms, between phases”, a phrase which represents the transient nature of Luc’s life, a theme explored throughout the record. 

The title of the album, 'Guiding Hand,' is a symbolic representation of the unseen force that propels us forward, particularly during the most challenging moments; the intangible energy that gives us the motivation to take our first steps, the courage to speak our truth, and the creative inspiration to trust in our ideas. For the past two years, this positive force has played a crucial role in helping ford. overcome the most challenging obstacles, both in his album writing process and personal life. 

The hands on the album's cover art are a depiction of an actual sculpture that is of personal significance to Luc and his family, a mold of his mother and older brother’s hands which were taken before his passing in 2007. He has been and continues to be an unwavering inspiration to Luc in his music. If you look closely at the artwork you will also notice an overlaid floor plan. The “rooms” represent each track on the record and also the different chapters ford. has experienced over the last few years:

“While finishing the album I was working on the artwork with Leo Horton and we kept coming back to this idea of the “Guiding Hand” pushing you through these various phases and points in time. We visually thought there was something really nice about that.” 

Overall, 'Guiding Hand' is a powerful testament to Luc's artistic vision and his journey to create music that is true to himself. While the album’s themes are deeply intimate, Luc’s creative intention is for listeners to form their own meanings and connection from the songs. He is excited to see how fans will receive this new chapter and hopes that they will be moved by its emotional depth and authenticity. 

A sample of what’s to come with ‘Guiding Hand,’ album single “The Pace” is crafted as a beautiful piano solo that blooms into a flowing piece of broken beat house music. 

“‘The Pace’ is the most accurate representation of life on the road, especially trying to get back into touring after some time and all the other hurdles that came with that. It’s the soundtrack to how I was feeling at the time and going through these intensive travel periods and being on the move a lot. I wanted to write a piece of music that was expressing the feeling of the motions of life and things moving constantly,” ford. says.  

“The Pace” is paired with a beautiful, rich and sun soaked video that was created by ford. as a way to build a world that is true to his personal vision of the music. It perfectly illustrates the song’s theme which is tied to intensive periods of travel and touring.  

Luc Bradford p/k/a “ford.” is entering his 5th year of being a professional musician. At the age of 23, he has released two full-length albums: ‘(The) Evening’ (2018) & ‘The Color of Nothing’ (2020) (albums which have amassed over 100 million+ streams + thousands of physical vinyl sold), sold out headline shows and received a coveted GRAMMY nomination in 2020 for his remix of label mate Mild Minds’ single SWIM. 

Born in Paris to American parents, raised in Frankfurt, Switzerland, and Singapore, and now residing in Utah, ford.’s global upbringing has been instrumental in shaping his musical perspective. Although still young, these eclectic life experiences can be felt deeply through ford.’s music -- a sound which is undoubtedly unique while simultaneously universal. 

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