It’s a Hohnen Ford autumn

It’s been over a year since Hohnen Ford released her last EP, I Wish I Had A God. Born from the depths of grief, the record captured the loss of one of her best friends and her attempts to make sense of it. Now she returns with Incurable Optimist, featuring the single “Skylight” with Tiny Habits. In the track, she revisits her grief, opening with the question, “Shouldn’t I be well by now?”  As a whole, the EP navigates the fragility of being human, exploring both familial and romantic grief. Made partly while touring with FINNEAS, it also reflects the — seemingly paradoxical — freedom Ford found within creative limitations. 

The release of Incurable Optimist isn’t Ford’s only achievement of 2025, though. As well as FINNEAS, the British singer-songwriter has supported Orla Gartland on tour, collaborated with Birdy on “A Lot To Give” and teamed up with Patrick Wilson on their duet, “Postcards”. Along the way, she’s gained admirers in John Mayer, Tom Odell and Marcus Mumford. Ford is also set to open for Wilson at the end of the year, but for now, she’s busy on her own European tour.

Congratulations on the new single, “Sunlight ft Tiny Habits”! What was the process of writing and recording that song like for you?

I wrote “Skylight” with Leroy Clampitt, who produced this EP, while I was in LA. I wrote it the same day “I Wish I Had a God” came out, which was the title track of my last EP. The song is dedicated to my dear friend Imogen, who passed away. She’s always on my mind, but that day especially. “Skylight” reflects on grief a year later, after losing someone so close to me. It was mostly written in a day, and the recording is just a live take of me playing piano and singing. Later, Tiny Habits heard it and asked me to play it for them. I thought they would sing the song beautifully, so I sent them the recording and they added their part. 

 You mentioned writing the song in Los Angeles. How did LA shape the sound of this EP? Do you feel the city gave you something you couldn’t have found in the UK?

One thing I really loved was living a six-minute walk from the studio. Nothing is ever walking distance in LA, but I managed to finesse it because I didn’t have a driving license. There’s an ease to my vocal performances on the EP because I felt so comfortable. Being close to home, the lovely temperature and the easy process all helped. It’s also partly down to Leroy — the environment he creates and the way he makes people feel. The studio we recorded in was very open and had a skylight… 

It was also great having no distractions and being in a new city where my only focus was music. I’d wake up, get myself a coffee and do my little walk over to the studio — that was my whole world for two weeks. There was something freeing about being in that bubble. Creatives often suffer from decision fatigue in the studio, so Leroy and I kept things simple. We had the same smoothie every lunch and worked the same hours every day. 

Keeping with the theme of cities, how did New York influence you? It sounds like you have a strong connection there based on your song, “Burn My Return Ticket”.

I’ve spent summers in New York falling in love. For me, it’s more about being inspired by the people there than by the city itself. But at the same time, there is something intoxicating about New York. It’s dirty and gruelling — we should all hate it and not want to live there. [Laughs.] Yet so many incredible, interesting people gravitate towards it. Maybe there’s some kind of magic in the stones.  

How does this project differ from your previous work?

There were a lot more American influences on this EP, since I made it in the US. I also had quite limited time to make it, which was very different from my usual process. While touring with FINNEAS, I’d spend late nights sending notes about snare sounds; hopping on Zoom calls as I got off planes. There were a lot of logistical and creative restrictions that weaved their way into how this project sounds. I don’t think you could hear it and go, Ah, I can definitely tell you made that decision after a FINNEAS show — but those constraints kept us from overcomplicating things. It stayed as simple as it needed to be.

What did you learn about yourself while making it?

I’m trying to have more self-compassion, and this project taught me to allow myself to make mistakes, in life and creatively, and to forgive myself when working within limitations. The more music I make and the more people I collaborate with, the clearer my creative vision becomes. Each project teaches me more about who I want to be as an artist and what I want to say. 

Yourself and Birdy bonded over olives and swapped industry stories before making the song, “A Lot To Give”. How important is it for you to build a personal connection with collaborators?

Working with Birdy was so fun, but it’s only now that I’m starting to build longer relationships with my collaborators as opposed to when I first started doing sessions. It was actually fun to work with people I didn’t know at all. There’s freedom in that, because you don’t owe them anything and you can let go of self-consciousness. But with Birdy, who I get on with so well, there was no pressure either. We just hung out for two days, and if the song worked, great. If not, we’d still have eaten loads of olives and had a good time. With Leroy, even though I didn’t know him that well, I felt a fundamental sense of respect and trust. 

Who would you love to collaborate with in the future? 

November Ultra and Maro — I adore them both. We actually have a group chat called the ‘Lullaby Super Group’, which I came up with. I love making music with people I love, and every collaboration is a learning curve for me.  

In the last year you’ve opened for Orla Gartland and FINNEAS. How has that influenced your performance style?

Both Orla and FINNEAS create worlds where audiences feel safe and seen. That’s what I want for my own shows — for people to feel present and to let themselves get swept up. Confidence on stage allows you to hold the audience’s emotions, as they project their worlds and lives onto you. Both artists are so great at allowing that to happen and I found that inspiring.

You’ve talked about keeping a diary of books while making the EP. Could you share a few that especially inspired you?

Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels, The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi and all of James Baldwin’s writing — particularly the way he writes about love in If Beale Street Could Talk. I was also reading Patti Smith, and Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. Everyone read it, but it was a big part of my reflection on self-compassion, because all her characters make mistakes and are flawed in a beautiful, human way. 

Do these writers help you navigate difficult emotions in your songwriting? 

Definitely. Absorbing other people’s descriptions of life makes me reflect on my own, which then enables me to express it. When I read, I underline phrases that speak to me. I just started The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and I’ve already underlined the entire first page. Later, I go back to see what I’ve underlined and expand on those ideas. 

Considering your EP has just come out in autumn, what does a Hohnen Ford autumn look like?

A lot of travelling and touring. I love how much energy there is in summer, particularly in London. People show up, sit in gardens and play songs. I want to carry that energy into autumn by finding ways to gather people and keep building community, even as the days get colder and darker. For me, autumn also means being proactive — doing yoga in the mornings, getting daylight, drinking loads of Yogi Tea, which I think I’ve singlehandedly kept in business for the last five years. And lots of swimming in the ladies’ pond. In summer it’s crowded and warm, but in colder months it’s invigorating.  

Listen to Incurable Optimist here.