Sebastian Rochford is a British drummer and composer. He has recorded and released music as leader of the British band Polar Bear, as Kutcha Butcha and as part of numerous collaborations.

Early life

Rochford was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

and has a large family of two brothers and seven sisters. He is of English and Anglo-Indian descent. His father, Gerard Rochford, was a poet. Rochford's first performances were with a punk band called Cabbage in Aberdeen. He then studied at the Newcastle College of Music before moving to London.

Later life and career

Rochford was band leader and composer of award-winning Polar Bear. The group released its first album ''Dim Lit'' in 2004 and its final album ''Same As You'' in 2015. The Polar Bear albums ''Held on the Tips of Fingers'' and ''In Each and Every One'' were nominated for the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

in 2005 and 2014 respectively. Rochford also played drums for

Acoustic Ladyland Acoustic Ladyland was a London-based jazz-punk band consisting of Pete Wareham on vocals and saxophone, Seb Rochford on drums, Chris Sharkey on guitar, and Ruth Goller on bass guitar. Tom Herbert of The Invisible played bass on their first t ...

, Basquiat Strings,

Oriole Oriole or Orioles may refer to: Animals * Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae * New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae Music * The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and earl ...

, Menlo Park, Ingrid Laubrock Quintet, Bojan Zulfikarpasic's Tetraband, and was a founding member of

Sons of Kemet Sons of Kemet are a British jazz group formed by Shabaka Hutchings, Oren Marshall, Seb Rochford, and Tom Skinner. Theon Cross replaced Marshall on tuba after the first album, and Eddie Hick replaced Rochford on drums after the third. Career T ...

. He has worked extensively with

Joanna MacGregor Joanna Clare MacGregor (born 16 July 1959) is a British concert pianist, conductor, composer, and festival curator. She is Head of Piano at the Royal Academy of Music and a professor of the University of London. She is currently artistic direc ...

and

Andy Sheppard Andy Sheppard (born 20 January 1957) is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, ...

, led the band Fulborn Teversham and has an improvising duo with

Leafcutter John Leafcutter John is the stage name, recording name of John Burton, a UK-based musician and artist. He makes frequent use of Max (software), Max/MSP in his compositions. Much of Burton's style is based in computer music and use of sampling (music ...

. He also performs as a solo project under the name Room of Katinas. His new band Pulled By Magnets made its debut in London in late 2018. The band sees Rochford reunited with frequent collaborator saxophonist

Pete Wareham Pete Wareham is a British saxophonist, composer and band leader. He leads the genre-defying North African/punk/jazz/dance band Melt Yourself Down and is a member of Nadine Shah’s Mercury Prize-nominated band, Seb Rochford’s Pulled By Magnets ...

as well as bassist Neil Charles. Pulled By Magnets released their debut album ''Rose Golden Doorways'' in 2020. January 2023 saw the release of a duo album with pianist Kit Downes. Entitled ''A Short Diary'', the record was released on

ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...

and is dedicated to Rochford's father, the poet Gerard Rochford. In an interview with ECM, Sebastian described the album as "“short diary (of loss)” and “a sonic memory, created with love, out of need for comfort.”

Collaborations

In 2006, Rochford collaborated with

Gwyneth Herbert Gwyneth Herbert (born 26 August 1981) is a British singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Initially known for her interpretation of jazz and swing standards, she is now established as a writer of original compo ...

in a production role for her album ''

Between Me and the Wardrobe ''Between Me and the Wardrobe'', the third album by British singer-songwriter Gwyneth Herbert, and her first album to consist entirely of self-penned songs, was released in 2006 on Herbert's own Monkeywood Records label and reissued in 2007 by ...

''. He played drums on

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

's Mercury-nominated album '' 19''. He has drummed for

Pete Doherty Peter Doherty (born 12 March 1979) is an English musician, songwriter, actor, poet, writer, and artist. He is best known for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he formed with Carl Barât in 1997. His other musical projects are indie ...

's band

Babyshambles Babyshambles were an English rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) during a hiatus from the Libertines. As of 2013 the band includes Mick Whitnall (lead guitar), Drew McConnell (bass ...

, performing on their eponymous debut single,a column
on Time Out's website and has continued to make guest appearances with them. He also played on the debut solo album by

Carl Barât Carl Ashley Raphael Barât (; born 6 June 1978) is a British musician and actor, best known for being the co-frontman with Pete Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and ...

, Doherty's bandmate from

Libertines A libertine is a person devoid of most moral principles, a sense of responsibility, or sexual restraints, which they see as unnecessary or undesirable, and is especially someone who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behaviour o ...

. In 2008, he drummed on the

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

and

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

album ''

Everything That Happens Will Happen Today ''Everything That Happens Will Happen Today'' is the second collaborative studio album by David Byrne and Brian Eno, released on August 18, 2008, by Todo Mundo. Marking Byrne's eighth studio effort overall and Byrne a ...

'', and rejoined Eno and

Rick Holland Rick Holland is an English poet and independent artist. He was born in Aldershot in 1978. Published work His first book 'Story the Flowers' was made at Calvert's Co-Operative Press in Bethnal Green in 2010. The work is constructed within the tra ...

for their album ''

Drums Between the Bells ''Drums Between the Bells'' is a collaboration album by Brian Eno and poet Rick Holland. It was released on 4 July 2011 on Warp Records in CD, double CD 'hardback', double vinyl and download editions. "Glitch" was released in advance of the alb ...

''. He produced and co-wrote a four-track EP with UK hip hop MC

Mikill Pane Justin-Smith Ikpaema Peter Damian Uzomba (from Hackney, London) better known by his stage name Mikill Pane, is an English rapper signed to Mercury Records. He is perhaps best known for his track "Little Lady" with Ed Sheeran which features ...

, ''The Guinness & Blackcurrant EP'', which was released independently in 2011. He played with Brett Anderson on '' Later Live... With Jools Holland'' on 1 November 2011. In 2014, Rochford played on Paolo Nutini's album ''Caustic Love'' and since 2015 he has toured with

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

(alongside Tony Shanahan and Smith's son Jackson). He has also worked with

Corrine Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

and American theremin player Pamelia Kurstin. In 2019 he co-composed the music the Chris Morris film '' The Day Shall Come'' and in 2020 he played with

Charles Hazlewood Charles Matthew Egerton Hazlewood (born 14 November 1966) is a British conductor. After winning the European Broadcasting Union conducting competition in 1995 whilst still in his twenties,Brett Anderson Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted The Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004- ...

and

Nadine Shah Nadine Petra Katarina Shah (born 16 January 1986) is a British singer, songwriter and musician. Background Shah was born in Whitburn, South Tyneside, to an English mother from South Shields of part Norwegian ancestry and a Pakistani father. ...

for a BBC TV broadcast. In 2021 Rochford undertook a four month residency at London venue Servant Jazz Quarters, playing solo sets and as well as collaborations with Lara Jones, Jason Singh, Theon Cross, Shirley Tetteh and Neil Charles. In 2021/22, Rochford toured with

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

in support of his solo album ''The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows''.

Days and Nights at the Takeaway

In 2012, Rochford engaged in a 12-month digital 'singles club' under the name Days and Nights at the Takeaway, a reference to his studio in North London. Each single consisted of a collaboration in a variety of styles and was backed by a remix by a third party. Collaborators included

Jehst William G. Shields (born 1979), better known by his stage name Jehst, is an English rapper and co-founder of hip hop label YNR Productions. Biography Born in Kent in 1979, Jehst spent his early childhood in Crowborough in Sussex before moving ...

, Spoek Mathambo, Jason Moran, Soumik Datta,

Leo Abrahams Leo Matthew Abrahams (born 1977 in London Borough of Camden, Camden, London) is an English musician, composer and producer. He has collaborated with a multitude of professional musicians, including Brian Eno, Katie Melua, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Co ...

Drew McConnell Drew McConnell (born 10 November 1978 in Dublin, Ireland) is the bass guitarist and backing vocalist with Babyshambles, the band formed and fronted by frontman of the Libertines, Pete Doherty, and for former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher's ba ...

and Oliver Coates. Remixers included

Micachu Mica Levi (; b. 28 February 1987), also known by their stage name Micachu, is an English singer, songwriter, composer and producer. Levi is classically trained and since 2008 has released experimental pop music with their band Good Sad Happy B ...

, Tom Skinner,

Simon Bookish Simon Bookish is the stage name of Leo Chadburn, a British musician and composer known for his work in experimental, electronic, pop, and classical music. His music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 6 Music, and Resonance ...

and Chris Sharkey. The series was released by

The Leaf Label The Leaf Label is a British independent record label based in Yorkshire, England. Initially an electronic music label, releasing mainly instrumental music, the company's approach now features artists spanning jazz and post-punk. History The Le ...

Awards and honors

Rochford won the BBC Jazz Award for best newcomer in 2004, and was nominated for best musician in 2006. He was also nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2005, 2007, 2014 and 2018, the nominations including Polar Bear's

Held on The Tips of Fingers ''Held on the Tips of Fingers'' is the second album by Sebastian Rochford's British jazz band Polar Bear. Background ''Held on the Tips of Fingers'' was released in 2005 on Babel Label and later re-released by The Leaf Label in 2014. This album ...

and

In Each and Every One ''In Each and Every One'' is the fifth album by Sebastian Rochford's British jazz band Polar Bear. Background This was the first Polar Bear record that was produced and mixed entirely by Rochford, giving him more creative control of the overall ...

plus the self-titled debut album by Basquiat Strings.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

With Polar Bear * ''

Dim Lit ''Dim Lit'' is the debut album by British jazz band Polar Bear, formed and led by drummer Sebastian Rochford. Background Polar Bear were awarded Best Band at the BBC Jazz Awards 2004, giving ''Dim Lit'' a platform for small scale success. It w ...

'' (

Babel Babel is a name used in the Hebrew Bible for the city of Babylon and may refer to: Arts and media Written works Books *Babel (book), ''Babel'' (book), by Patti Smith * Babel (2012 manga), ''Babel'' (2012 manga), by Narumi Shigematsu * Babel (20 ...

, 2004) * ''

Held on the Tips of Fingers ''Held on the Tips of Fingers'' is the second album by Sebastian Rochford's British jazz band Polar Bear. Background ''Held on the Tips of Fingers'' was released in 2005 on Babel Label and later re-released by The Leaf Label in 2014. This album ...

'' (Babel, 2005) * '' Polar Bear'' (Tin Angel, 2008) * '' Peepers'' (

, 2010) * ''

'' (The Leaf Label, 2014) * ''

Same as You ''Same as You'' is the sixth studio album by British jazz band Polar Bear. It was released on 30 March 2015 by The Leaf Label. Background The band rehearsed and recorded the album in the UK, after which Seb Rochford went to California and mixed ...

'' (The Leaf Label, 2015) As Kutcha Butcha * ''Ndya'' (Half Baked Bread, 2019) * ''At Odds'' (Bandcamp release, 2019) * ''Separation'' (Bandcamp release, 2020) * ''Prerevolution'' (Bandcamp release, 2021) * ''Durational'' (Bandcamp release, 2021) Other * Fulborn Teversham - ''Count Herbert III'' (Pickled Egg, 2007) * Sebastian Rochford and Pamelia Kurstin - ''Ouch Evil Slow Hop'' (Slowfoot 2011) * Sebastian Rochford and David Coulter - ''Good Friday'' (Trestle records, 2016) * Pulled by Magnets - ''Rose Golden Doorways'' (Tak:Til, 2020) * Sebastian Rochford and Kit Downes - ''A Short Diary'' (ECM, 2023)

On drums

With

* ''

Camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

'' (

, 2004) * ''

Last Chance Disco Last Chance Disco is the second studio album by British punk jazz band Acoustic Ladyland. It was released on 16 May 2005 by Babel Label. Background ''Last Chance Disco'' was created as a reaction to Pete Wareham's frustration with jazz, and h ...

'' (Babel, 2005) * ''

Skinny Grin ''Skinny Grin'' is a 2006 album by Acoustic Ladyland, featuring the singles "Salt Water" and "Cuts & Lies". It was recorded at Eastcote Studios in London, engineered by Philip Bagenal and Al O'Connell. James Chance's guest appearance was recorded ...

'' ( V2, 2006) * '' Living with a Tiger'' (Strong and Wrong, 2009) With

Brigitte Fontaine Brigitte Fontaine, (born 24 June 1939) is a singer of avant-garde music. She has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, electronica, spoken word poetry, and world. She has collaborated with Stereolab, ...

* ''

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

'' (

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, 2009) * ''

L'un n'empêche pas l'autre ''L'un n'empêche pas l'autre'' is the eighteenth album by experimental French singer Brigitte Fontaine, released in 2011 on the Polydor/ Universal label. Like ''Kékéland ''Kékéland'' is the fourteenth album by experimental French si ...

'' (

, 2011) With

* '' Trio Libero'' (

, 2012) * ''

Surrounded by Sea ''Surrounded by Sea'' is an album by British saxophonist and composer Andy Sheppard recorded in Switzerland in 2014 and released on the ECM label the following year.

'' (ECM, 2015) * ''

Romaria Romaria is a Brazilian municipality located in the northwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2020 was 3,520 people living in a total area of 402 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Pa ...

'' (ECM, 2018) With Oriole * ''Song for the Sleeping'' ( F-IRE, 2004) * ''Migration'' (F-IRE, 2006) * ''Every New Day'' (F-IRE, 2012) With

* ''

Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

'' (

Naim Naim (also spelled Na'im, Nayeem, Naeem, Naiem, Nahim, Naheem, Nyhiem, Nihiem, Nyheim, Niheem, or Nahiem) ( ar, نعیم, he, נעים) is a male given name and surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Naim ibn Hammad (died 843 AD), ...

, 2013) * '' Lest We Forget What We Came Here to Do'' (Naim, 2015) * '' Your Queen Is a Reptile'' (

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

, 2018) With Theo Girard * ''30YearsFrom'' (Discobole Records/Modulor, 2017) * ''Interlude'' (Discobole Records, 2019) * ''Bulle'' (Discobole Records, 2019) * ''Pensées Rotatives'' (Discobole Records, 2019)

Miscellaneous

- ''Babyhambles'' (High Society, 2004) * Littl'ans featuring Peter Doherty - ''Their Way'' ( Rough Trade, 2004) *

Julia Biel Julia Biel is a British jazz singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Early life Biel was born in London on 22 February 1976. She was brought up in Sutton, then studied French and German at the University of Oxford. There, she was in a b ...

- ''Not Alone'' (Rokit Records, 2005) * Basquiat Strings - ''Basquiat Strings With Seb Rochford'' (F-IRE, 2007) *

and

(Tudo Mundo, 2008) *

- ''19'' (XL Recordings, 2008) * Bojan Zulfikarpašić - Humus (EmArcy/Universal, 2009) * Cheikh Lô - ''Jamm'' (World Circuit, 2010) *

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...

- (The Sea Virgin, 2010) *

Brett Anderson Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted The Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004- ...

Black Rainbows ''Black Rainbows'' is the fourth solo album by the English singer-songwriter Brett Anderson, released on 26 September 2011.

(EMI, 2011) *

Fatoumata Diawara Fatoumata Diawara ( bm, ߝߊ߫ߕߎߡߕߊ ߖߊ߯ߥߙߊ߫, Fatumta Jawara, born 1982) is a Malian singer-songwriter currently living in France. Diawara began her career as an actress in theatre and in film, including ''Genesis'' (1999), ''Sia, T ...

- Fatou - (World Circuit, 2011) * Brian Eno with Rick Holland - ''Drums Between The Bells'' (

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

2011) * Rokia Traore - ''Beautiful Africa'' (Nonesuch, 2013) *

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

- ''Original Beast'' (2014) *

Paolo Nutini Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9 January 1987) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley. Nutini's debut album, ''These Streets'' (2006), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Its follow-up, '' Sunny Side Up'' (2009), deb ...

- ''Caustic Love'' (Atlantic, 2014) * Carl Barat - ''Carl Barat'' (Arcady, 2014) * Jess Glynne - Home (single) (Atlantic, 2014) * James Morrison - ''Higher Than Here'' (Island, 2015) * Helsinki – ''A Guide For The Perplexed'' (Fierce Panda, 2015) *

- ''Live in Berlin'' (2015) * Nicolai Munch-Hansen, Peter Laugesen - ''Det Flimrende Lys Over Brabrand Sø'' (Stunt,2016) * Irah - ''Diamond Grid'' (Tambourhinoceros, 2019) * Abrasive Trees - ''Replenishing Water'' (SHAPTA, 2021) *

Aldous Harding Hannah Sian Topp (born 1990), known professionally as Aldous Harding, is a New Zealand folk singer-songwriter, based in Lyttelton, New Zealand. Biography Harding comes from a musical family in Lyttelton, New Zealand. Her mother is folk singer ...

- ''Warm Chris'' (

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after the Hendrix album) by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD af ...

, 2022)

References

External links

Polar Bear website

Guardian article "Is this the hardest-working man in music?"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rochford, Seb Scottish drummers British rock drummers Scottish multi-instrumentalists Living people British jazz drummers British male jazz musicians Babyshambles members Polar Bear (British band) members Year of birth missing (living people) Musicians from Aberdeen Sons of Kemet members