When the name Ed Cash is thrown around, immediately following are the artists for whom the Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter has made records: Amy Grant. Steven Curtis Chapman. David Crowder Band. Kari Jobe. Casting Crowns. Chris Tomlin.

Ben Ford? 

Every once in awhile, Cash comes across an artist whose songwriting, musicality and total package forces him to pay attention. Jackson, Mississippi singer-songwriter Ben Ford is one of those fortunate few artists, and the hard-working, coffee-and-popsicle slinging musician saw incredible doors open and a talented team rally around him to produce his second-ever EP, titled Breather.

Full of soothing acoustic sounds, easygoing vocals and an overt, but non-preachy delivery of the Gospel, Breather reveals a growing musical force coming out of the South. And in answering my 10 questions, Ford reveals a bit more about the person behind the talent. 

How'd you get started writing and performing music? 

It mostly started when I was in college. The idea that music could be more than a hobby kinda dawned on me after my first year of college. I basically got coerced into trying out for a band my freshman year. I then changed my major to music, and then later began pursuing it full-time several years later. It wasn't until then that I began developing more of a passion for good music and solid songwriting.

Were you born into a musical family? Anyone else sing/play/songwrite?

I guess you can say I kind of was. My mother was--is--a music director at the church that I grew up in, and that opened me up to the music world early. My sister and brother sing and play in their local churches pretty often but outside of that occasion, everyone else in my family doesn't really do a whole lot musically.
 
A lot of independent artists have secret identities working other jobs, doing other things. Do you have one of those? 

I do actually. I make people coffee most days and I hand people the best popsicles you've ever tasted. It's called Deep South Pops. If you're ever in my neck of the woods, swing by and check it out. Cup of joe and popsicle on me. (Right, boss?)

When you play a show, what do people come away with? What's the experience you're trying to go for musically, theatrically, etc.?

At a live show, I believe somebody would experience a raw and honest atmosphere. My goal is to close the gap between the stage and the audience. The songs I write represent who I am as a person and I believe people are attracted to honesty and vulnerability. That's what it's like when you break open a songwriter. He should bleed who he really is. I would say that's what I want you to get out of one of my shows.

What are the 3 to 5 most influential albums to you as a musician?

That's hard. Continuum by John Mayer, Home by Josh Garrels, Apologies by David Ramirez, The Burning Edge of Dawn by Andrew Peterson and Ledges by Noah Gundersen.
 
Breather is the new EP. I understand you took your time making this. Talk about the process of making Breather. 

Definitely. I sat down over coffee with one of my bandmates and we chatted about doing a new record with the recent songs I had written. Soon after that, I had decided I wanted to take a big risk in my career and get in contact with "dream people" to work with on this project. Realizing it was a long shot, I went ahead and contacted Ed Cash and the Anchor Productions crew in Franklin, Tennessee. 

No more than a week or so later, I got in contact with Cody Norris, who would later produce this project and we soon got the ball rolling on pre-production and some writing with those guys. To this point, everything was solely out of trust. That in itself showed me that these guys actually believed in me as an artist and songwriter. 

This whole project was a huge risk. I had just recently began pushing into a music career full-time, so this was a big step for me as an indie artist. I ultimately knew that I needed to trust the Lord financially to make this record happen, and He did. I'm so thankful. This whole process was a learning point to be faithful in activity, hard work, and excellence and then see the Lord move in it all. 
 
How many projects have you put out, and how are you different as a songwriter/performer since you started?

I've only put out two EPs up to this point. One I did locally and then this record with Anchor. Since the first one, my thoughts on music and my influences have changed a whole lot. My past record was solely geared for the church--mostly from a worship leader's mindset because that's where I was during that season. 

With this last record, I wanted to write some tunes a little less geared towards public singing and more for someone to sit down, be challenged by, and relate to. When you cut open a songwriter, he should bleed who he really is. With this record, I feel like I bled honestly in struggle and delight in the Gospel. That's really why I called this recent EP, Breather. There is no song called "Breather" on the record. I really just wanted this to be a crew of songs for people that was honest, showed insecurities, and relayed struggles but also introduced an answer to those things as well. 

In other interviews you've talked about being proud to represent Mississippi. What's the Christian music scene like there?

The Christian music scene in Mississippi isn't very large, to be honest. There's just a big need to introduce real, Gospel truth in songwriting. That rings true all over to be honest but very much so here in the "Deep South." There are plenty of writers around that unashamedly take shots at churches, Christians, and religion in general. But that's too easy, right? I just want to write about that same subject but just offer some solutions and not simply raising frustrations and problems. That's really the direction I'm heading in, as far as songwriting as a whole.

You have a very rare knack for transmitting over spiritual truths without it sounding overtly preachy or even close to cheesy. You have a smooth lyrical delivery akin to a Paul Simon or John Mark McMillan. Is that something you had to develop over time, or have you always had a different approach to "Christian music?"

I haven't always felt like I've been on the fringes of "Christian music" until I got older. Really until I started searching out faith for myself and realizing some Christian tunes that I kinda grew up loving weren't necessarily true or grounded in the teaching of the Gospel in general. Some songs may have sounded great and been in perfect form but as far as the content, it was subpar. Almost as if it "left the press" too early.

Parts of me understands that, though, because I definitely have had to develop to get to where I am--and have a long way to go. I grew up in the church so I've had to learn to extract predictable melodies, tones, and lyrics and say the same things, but differently. That's still a struggle that I'm trying to hone in and grow in but one that is worth the strain. Any songwriter should agree that they've written a ton of terrible songs before. That's just part of growing and developing as an artist and a writer.
 
What's your mission as best you can tell as a creative person?

It's pretty simple. My mission is to write songs as long as I can that are true to me, true to the Gospel, and relatable to the listener. 

Do you mostly share your music in the church setting, or have you had any experiences sharing it in the general public? What's that been like?

When I first started out, the church scene was very close, natural, and comfortable for me so I started there. As of the past year, I've played a little less there and I've worked a lot more in the House Show scene around the U.S. along with other public venues. 

In this season of touring, I will have played in a bar in downtown Dallas, a festival and music hall in Mississippi, a college in Los Angeles, a living room in Texas, a coffee shop in Alabama, and a church in Sacramento. You learn to be very adaptable, get humbled (for example, being in living rooms), and just enjoy the opportunities to play your tunes. 

What's next? How can people be praying for you?

Man just be praying for me to stay content and firm in the Gospel to which I've been entrusted. Both on the platform and behind the espresso machine. The Gospel is an old truth still saving souls centuries later. No new message can hold a candle to the Gospel. Pray that I don't stray elsewhere. Lastly, pray for me to be a "constant" in Christ, pursuing holiness, and not be adorned by the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.