From jazz prodigy to acclaimed songwriter, Hohnen Ford reflects on crafting truth in melody, finding strength in collaboration, and navigating the fine line between openness and mystery.

North London’s Hohnen Ford has spent years shaping her voice, first in the disciplined halls of the Royal Academy of Music and later in the intimate spaces where jazz meets confessional songwriting. With a sound that blends delicate piano, warm woodwind and lyrical honesty, she has drawn praise from artists such as John Mayer, Tom Odell, Laufey and FINNEAS, the latter of whom she recently toured with. Her latest EP builds on the introspection of her debut, embracing both grit and tenderness. She speaks candidly about her creative process and the emotional truths behind her music, while also exploring how to keep just enough mystery in an age of oversharing.

For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

I’m a north Londoner. Daughter of a pragmatic optimist and empathetic therapist who both love music, playing soul records and classical piano through the house when I was growing up with my brother. I was obsessed with Jazz as a teenager, studied it at the royal academy of music, and graduated in covid where I finally garnered the confidence to share my own songs and step out of the jazz scene into the artist world. I love people. Sometimes too much. I feel like an eternal student of song. It is there that I currently reside.

Can you tell us more about your track ‘Ordinary’?

I love this song. I wrote it and rewrote it and unwrote it until it felt just enough strange and true. It’s about the contrast of being seen by someone you love, and the loneliness that comes on the other side of the coin.

How was it produced?

This EP followed a natural instinct of building the world around the piano and voice performance. We had quite a tight timeframe as I was going on tour with Finneas and wanted to get the songs out to people as soon as they heard them! I worked with Leroy Clampitt in his beautiful LA studio and we spent a week curating the right atmosphere so that the songs emerged and led themselves. It was such a privilege working alongside him in this process!

You’ve had endorsements from some huge names - John Mayer, Tom Odell, Laufey, Finneas. Has that kind of recognition changed how you view your own work?

It’s really lovely. I am so grateful and it’s mildly surreal to have some of my heroes believe in what I’m doing. At the end of the day it’s me and my craft and my yapping brain that I have to contend with. Sometimes that external validation quiets the self critical voice, other times it amplifies it. Holding myself to a higher standard. But something I often think about is how the self hating narrative is just as ugly and ego-ic as the the voice that self congratulates. Forever in pursuit of the middle path and reconnecting to my craft.

“A Lot To Give” with Birdy was such a delicate and moving duet. What was the collaborative process like on that track?

Thank you Birdy is like some mythical magical creature . I feel like we have a kind of witchy kinship that we spotted really early on. I love hanging out with her. I think we compliment each other musically, it was so fun uncovering our musical overlap. The process was very natural and I think we’ll be friends for a very long time. I really enjoyed finding strength in our womanhood in the process too. I felt we really leaned into that. It’s subtle but powerful. Nearly all my musical experiences have been with men at the helm or beside me so that felt quite special. I LOVE strength. Birdy has so much of that.

Your debut EP I Wish I Had A God was deeply introspective. How do you feel your writing has evolved since then?

This EP feels like the next chapter after I wish I had a God - a kind of big sister EP. I’m chipping away at learning who I am and my creative process and my creative vision. I feel a wave of growth and security in my music emerging very slowly.

You trained in Jazz Voice at the Royal Academy, which is such a rigorous and classical background. How do you carry that training into your more contemporary songwriting?

It was a great lesson in discipline. Being an artist requires so much self discipline and balance between the creative spirit and refinement of the craft. Pursuit of the greatest presentation of that emotion or art form without butchering the artist or letting the ego stop the work from ever being finished. My training at RAM was very challenging both personally and musically, but I am very grateful for skills and perspective it left me with. Even the process of outgrowing the college mindset has been a great learning curve.

You’ve spoken about emotional honesty and bold vulnerability. Do you ever find that level of openness daunting, especially as your audience grows?

Yes. Hugely. I try not to think about it too much. It’s not so much about a new audience, but more about how the people around me investigate my songs and have a view into my life in a way I might not present to them personally. Songs are sometimes like diary entries, and sometimes a cacophony of different stories and perspectives melting together. I hate feeling that my people might be wondering if they’re a part of them. I feel most proud when listeners feel like I wrote my songs about their lives, not mine. That is what I’m striving for.

There’s such a warmth and intimacy in your arrangements, woodwind, fingerpicked guitar, tumbling piano. How much does instrumentation shape your songwriting from the start?

This is still something I’m exploring! So many of my favourite artists build such a world around their songs, not just with their voice but with an undeniable soundscape. I love little details.. alto flute, soft guitar, the detail of pedals on a felted piano. I love balancing the grit and beauty in a sonic world.

You’ve supported FINNEAS and Orla Gartland on tour. What have been the biggest takeaways from being around other artists with such strong creative identities?

It takes a lot of hard work. But it's possible! Trust your audience, they'll get you. And the only person who can make anything really happen for your artist project is YOU the artist. So be strong and have faith :)

Social media’s clearly played a big role in your rise. How do you balance the personal and professional on those platforms?

It’s veryyyy difficult ! I think it’s so important to keep some distance from your audience so that they can project what they need from your art onto you. I don’t want to see my heroes' holiday pictures, I just want to have the songs and for them to be what they need to be to me. Conversely there's an increasing pressure to show and give mORE, especially as a woman. So the challenge is finding a way of expanding the world around the art, without giving away too much of my humanness. I have been experimenting with that line and I feel like if I cross it it’s very easy to lose myself.

What do you love right now?

My community. My yoga practice that I’m clawing back after my long touring stint. Summer fruit.

What do you hate right now?

Insecurity is so out. It’s like therapy. You don’t go to therapy for yourself, you go so you’re a better person for those around you. Working on your insecurity is a gift to those around you.

What’s next for Hohnen Ford?

My headline tour around Europe in October.!! (tell your friends!) Some more support tours. Some collaborations... Maybe some Christmas celebrations… lots of things I’m juuuuust about to spill…

Start Listening To: Hohnen Ford