Introducing: Callum Ford

With his debut single Simple Science already making waves on BBC Introducing, Callum Ford is proving himself to be a rising star to watch. Signed to Polyvale Records, this singer-songwriter blends introspection with genre-defying sounds, drawing on influences from 90s rap, British grime, and rock.

His upcoming single, Do It Like This, dropping on December 20th, takes a bold look at societal divisions and the artist's place within them. This reflective anthem channels raw energy, raising thought-provoking questions about identity and purpose. Just ten days later, Callum will release Borderline, a soul-hip hop-rock hybrid that juxtaposes church-like undertones with emotionally charged confessions.

These tracks set the stage for his highly anticipated debut album, arriving in February 2025—a milestone not just for Callum, but also for Polyvale Records, which proudly champions emerging talent. In this interview, we dive deep into Callum’s creative process, his journey as an artist, and the stories behind his music that promise to resonate with audiences far and wide.

Your debut single, Simple Science, blends hip-hop, trap, rock, and metal in a unique way. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the song and how it reflects your creative process?

Simple Science is all about looking at the structure of music and how it can be formulaic at times, I wanted to explore this within the lyrics. This is contrasted with the mixture of genres within the instrumental which gives another dimension to the song and the meaning of the lyrics. This kind of follows the pattern I tend to have in the creative process, I start with a bit of chaos and bring some order to it. 

You’ve mentioned artists like Mac Miller, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole as key influences. How have they shaped your approach to storytelling and your signature genre-blending style?

I love the way that all those artists like to blend their style through the use of different samples and sounds in their songs. But they’re always still bringing their own sound and style to these different genres, I wanted to do the same, be fresh and alternative at times but also maintain a sense of myself as an artist. The same goes for storytelling within my songs, I love jumping in and out of different stories and characters within songs but keep an authenticity about them.

As a master of freestyle, how do you balance the spontaneity of freestyling with the structure needed for recording and producing your music?

As I mentioned, when writing songs, I always tend to start with a bit of freestyle and chaos I guess, I think it’s what makes some of the flows and sounds quite unique. But through the process of elimination at times and then generally editing as I go, I bring order to the chaos. I find that working with my producer Filip really helps with that process, it gives a fresh perspective to my vocals and allows me to know if what I’m writing is actually as good as I think it is when I’m hyped up and in the moment.

Your music pushes boundaries by mixing genres and experimenting with sounds. How do you decide which elements to incorporate, and what’s your process for finding harmony in such a diverse blend?

There isn’t an exact process, if it sounds good, best believe it’s in the song! It’s a product of hours listening to individual parts of the song and looking for what will pop in each bit, we tend to throw out the rule book and go with our guts on it as, at the end of the day, I’m writing music because I love listening to it and enjoying it myself, I hope others will too.

With Simple Science being your debut single, what message do you hope listeners take away from it, and how does it set the tone for your future projects?

I hope people see that I’m something a bit different and unique. There’s a lot of other artists out there, most of whom are really struggling to get any traction, so being different and fresh is key. I think Simple Science gives a bit of a sample of what I’m about, there’s R&B influence and melody in there and some rap parts as well, so it’s a bit of a holistic look on the sort of things that I like to do on tracks. But most of all I think that whether people enjoy the track or don’t, get ready to be surprised as I think with other songs lined up there’s the potential to really surprise people with what I come out with based off just listening to that single, so stay tuned!