Sebastian Rochford is a singular force in British music, an extraordinary drummer, composer, and producer. His work with the iconic group Polar Bear helped redefine the boundaries of jazz and earned multiple Mercury Prize nominations. With a career spanning collaborations with Patti Smith, Damon Albarn, Brian Eno, Adele and Grace Jones, and his 2023 ECM duo album A Short Diary with Kit Downes, an album written for his father described as a “ quiet masterpiece” , Rochford has carved out a unique space in contemporary music.
Finding Ways, his new major project, marks a bold new chapter for Seb Rochford. The first album focuses on the guitar, featuring among others, the dynamic lineup of Tara Cunningham, David Preston, Adrian Utley (Portishead), and Simon Tong(The Verve, Gorillaz), exploring various combinations and layering up to three guitars at once. The result is a striking blend of jagged experimental grooves and raw emotional depth, with an unaffected, pedal-less sound that evokes a timeless, exploratory edge. Rochford’s music, as ever, defies categorisation—a sound that feels alive, fractured, and profoundly human, and all mixed by the singular talent and master of sound, Tchad Blake.
The title Finding Ways refers to a frame of mind he chose to adopt after multiple significant life events happening in a small amount of time. "It’s about finding ways to keep ourselves moving forward and buoyant, transforming life’s challenges into something meaningful, also in a practical, everyday type of way.
In Finding Ways, it’s direct, energetic music that refuses to be boxed in, a reflection of Seb Rochford's trailblazing spirit. For fans of his previous work and newcomers alike, this album is a testament to his ongoing quest to find emotional truth in sound.
21 Nov – In Store at Roughtrade (Denmark Street), London
23 Nov – Jazz in the Round, London
credits
released November 7, 2025
Anders Christensen - Bass 1-5, 7-10
Ruth Goller - Bass 6
Tara Cunningham - Guitar 1-8, 10
David Preston - Guitar 1-4,7,10
Simon Tong - Guitar 6,8
Leo Abrahams - Guitar 5,10
Matt Hurley - Guitar 1,2
Adrian Utley - Guitar 9
John Parish - Guitar/lap steel 9
Seye Adelekan - Acoustic Guitar 3
Sebastian Rochford - Drums 1-10
Music written by Sebastian Rochford
Produced by Sebastian Rochford
Executive producer Dave Stapleton
Recorded by Leo Abrahams at The Shelter
Mixed by Tchad Blake
Mastered by Shawn Joseph at Optimum
Artwork by Sebastian Rochford
Designed with Oli Bentley at Split
Photos by Dave Stapleton and Finding Ways
this album is the justification for the hundreds of hours this year alone i have put into listening to albums. this record has so much versatility, it could be very legitimately used as background noise, or it could be a full-blown story that takes you down many winding paths of tension and emotion. the only difference between these two scenarios is whatever you wanted this album to be. if you havent already, please let this be the reason that you check this album out :3 kaycs
A fascinating journey of jazz influenced by the space of dub and low end of doom, spiritually somewhere in the neighborhood of Bohren und der Club of Gore but with a sound wholly its own. fobo