Upcoming Shows
Sun Feb 1
DWI
(Drinking with Instruments)
Westbeth
New York, NY
Free Event
Sun Feb 22
Seth & Gene’s Excellent Electroacoustic Adventure
w/ Poet Robert C. Ford
San Diego University
San Diego, CA
Tickets Available Soon
Ciao Roma!
Over the summer, Robert lit up the stage at Joe’s Pub in NYC, performing with Sound Liberation alongside legendary trombonist Dick Griffin (Sun Ra). He also brought his words to life in Rome, narrating one of his poems over Tony Esposito’s iconic 1980s hit Kalimba de Luna during a private concert at Villa Kostabi.
Recent Singles
Art Basel (Tomato Basil) is Robert at his sharpest, part pop-rap satire, part cultural critique, part insider wink. The track skewers the luxury art world with the precision of a seasoned Wall Street trader and the irreverence of a downtown poet who’s seen the velvet rope from both sides.
Over slick, playful beats by seeSEE Beats, Ford flips the language of exclusivity (bitcoin, Ferraris, pedigrees, wristbands) into a surreal collage where money, taste, and identity blur. The title itself is the thesis: art and commerce reduced to a phonetic garnish, indistinguishable once you’re deep enough inside the spectacle.
What elevates Art Basel (Tomato Basil) beyond novelty is Ford’s lived credibility. This isn’t outsider mockery; it’s satire from within. The cadence is relaxed but deliberate, the humor dry rather than cartoonish, and the observations land with the confidence of someone who knows exactly how absurd the room really is.
The result is a track that feels equally at home blasting from a Miami balcony or echoing through a gallery after-hours. Smart, funny, and uncomfortably accurate.
Ascending Volumes is a contemplative collaboration that bridges poetic minimalism and soulful soundscapes. At its heart are four haikus by Robert, each a distilled reflection on the seasons of life. The words are sparse yet resonant, capturing moments of transition, introspection, and the gentle cycles that shape human experience.
These poems find their perfect sonic counterpart in Jay Rodriguez-Sierra’s meditative shakuhachi. Known for his work with the likes of Groove Collective and Wu-Tang Clan, Rodriguez-Sierra brings a deep sensitivity and reverence to the traditional Japanese flute. His breathy, flowing notes are spacious and evocative, carving a serene atmosphere that feels both ancient and immediate.
Together, the haikus and shakuhachi create an elegiac arc, a sound meditation that unfolds like a slow walk through shifting landscapes. This isn’t music that rushes; it feels like a pause: a breath, a quiet pulse, a moment of realignment.
Where many contemporary pieces lean on density and intensity, Ascending Volumes finds its power in absence, the stillness between words and notes. It’s a rare work that rewards mindful listening, and in an age of noise, it offers solace.
Robert’s sophomore album, Footprints of Steel (Composers Concordance Records/Naxos distribution), is available on all major streaming platforms. It features 14 eclectic tracks, including collaborations with Adam Holzman (Miles Davis, Steven Wilson) and Carli Muñoz (Beach Boys, Wilson Pickett).
The album has garnered critical acclaim:
”What exactly is “new music” these days and how much further can it strive beyond the high Downtown years? One answer may lie within the album’s fourth selection, “Not All Apples Are Blue Color”, which embraces the wonderfully bizarre. No, this cut is not of the Dada school, it isn’t No Wave, nor post-punk, but of a late-1960s fashion recalling Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable and an acoustic Velvet Underground, wherein the poet’s recitation and droning vocal are interspersed with Milica Paranosic’s mellifluous singing and piercing spoken word, anchored by Brian DuFord’s classical guitar. Here, women’s liberation tangos with the truly absurd, in a manner demanding repeated listenings.”
- John Pietaro (columnist NYC Jazz Record, co-host of WFMU’s Beneath the Underground)
“Love is not a crime…”
The Cauldron is based on Robert’s dark humor lyrics about a woman’s revenge on a cheating boyfriend set to music by Gene Pritsker (Matrix Resurrections, Joe Zawinul). It combines elements of jazz, opera and spoken word into a contemporary classical music composition performed by Sound Liberation, featuring the powerhouse soprano vocals of Adriana Valdés and a searing trumpet solo by Frank Hackl (Lew Soloff), accompanied by Gene Pritsker (guitar), Amanda Ruzza (bass--Jill Sobule) and David Cossin (drums--Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), with Robert narrating starting at the 2:00 mark.
‘The Cauldron’ was submitted to NPR Music’s 2024 Tiny Desk Contest!
“Spill your own drink...”
Robert wrote the words for Not All Apples Are Blue Color, an anti-Barbie anthem and video by Take a Pick (Brian DuFord, Milica Paranosic) encouraging people to overcome negative body image.
‘Not All Apples Are Blue Color’ has 10k views on YouTube!