Category Archives: Blog

Seb Rochford unveils new project, Finding Ways, and announces debut album

12 September 2025

Drummer extraordinaire and all-around musical force Seb Rochford is stepping into something fresh and bold with his new project, Finding Ways. An ingenious and prolific musician, Rochford, who is known for his groundbreaking work with Polar Bear (two-time Mercury Prize nominee) as well as Pulled By Magnets, Sons of Kemet or Basquiat Strings and collaborations with the likes of Patti Smith, Damon Albarn, Grace Jones, Herbie Hancock, David Byrne and Brian Eno, is far from slowing down. With Finding Ways, Rochford is carving out a whole new sound “built on layered guitars and raw emotion” and blending alternative and indie rock with jazz. Speaking about the project, Rochford comments:

“Finding Ways is my new band/project and is inspired by practical ways I found each day to keep myself positive and navigate this world. I wanted to explore raw, effectless guitar with this new music, playing with new musicians and also pulling together some of the incredible musicians I make music with in different settings.”

The good news is there’s a self-titled debut album on the way, featuring a stellar cast of musicians, including Tara Cunningham, David Preston, Simon Tong, Leo Abrahams, Matt Hurley, Adrian Utley, John Parish, Seye Adelekan, Anders Christensen and Ruth Goller. We´ll have to wait until November 7th for the album to be released through Edition Records but as a thrilling taste of what’s to come, Finding Ways dropped today the first single, ‘Maybe’, opening a window into the sonic adventure that lies ahead. Take a listen now.

TUKAN share brand new track ‘Layover’

12 September 2025

Fresh off the release of Human Drift in January, TUKAN hit stages across Europe and out of that run comes ‘Layover’, a new track sparked on the tour, that feels alive. “Designed as the soundtrack to those nights when the stage and the crowd merge into one”, as the press release describes, the single distils the momentum of their live shows into four minutes of fiery energy. Bound to move bodies and minds alike, ‘Layover’ is streaming below.

Alex Hitchcock drops new single, ‘Yellow Greens’, from upcoming Letters From Afar LP

11 September 2025

Photo: Blackham Images

We’re excited to share that saxophonist and Ivor Novello-nominated composer Alex Hitchcock is gearing up to release his new album, Letters From Afar. Following his 2021 album Dream Band and a collaborative album released last month with his new jazz supergroup lvdf, Hitchcock’s new record offers another step forward in his growing catalog of ambitious work. Letters From Afar was largely shaped by a period of intense travel and community-building across two continents, a theme that resonates throughout it. With a stellar lineup including Harish Raghavan (bass), David Adewumi (trumpet), Lex Korten (piano), and Jongkuk Kim (drums), the album explores deep modal harmonies and dynamic exchanges between the quintet. Hitchcock merges intricate and soulful harmonies with explosive moments of spontaneity, tapping into influences from jazz legends like Coleman Hawkins and Wayne Shorter, as well as contemporary figures like Ambrose Akinmusire and Tyshawn Sorey.

Letters From Afar will see the light of day on September 26th through New Soil and following the lead single ‘Wishbone’, he is offering another sublime taste from the album with new single ‘Yellow Greens’. Recorded in New York with an exceptional quintet, ‘Yellow Greens’ draws its inspiration from the colour field paintings of Mark Rothko. Hitchcock comments:

“Rothko invented his own visual language, wanting to create new, modern myths as a reaction to the political chaos of the 1940s. In his Color Field paintings, sometimes structure is purposely given up, and boundaries disintegrate or appear where you wouldn’t expect them. That made me think about letting go of musical control, sharing it, or a kind of organic ‘anarchy’ to show up naturally. I wanted this composition to be satisfying in its harmonic density and colour — ‘Earfood’ to borrow Roy Hargrove’s term — because I get the same feeling of nourishment from the blending at the edges of one of Rothko’s colour blocks as I would from a specific chord or voicing chosen by a pianist I like. They both involve blend, texture, gesture, colour, invention and reorganising.”

‘Yellow Greens’ is offered with a visualiser and you can watch it below.

If you’re in London, don’t miss Hitchcock’s upcoming performances at Ronnie Scott’s (Oct 2nd) and as part of the London Jazz Festival at World Heartbeat (Nov 20th). Additional dates include a show at Nublu in New York (Sep 28th), and at Guimarães Jazz Festival in Portugal (Nov 15th).

Jerk unveils second single ‘incoming’ from forthcoming EP

11 September 2025

After dropping the upbeat and funk-driven ‘dance beneath the dripping moon‘, Jerk is back with a new single. The Brooklyn-based project of producer and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Kinney has released ‘incoming’, the second single from their upcoming EP as night falls, dropping on November 14th through DeepMatter Records. With a more ominous and gritty sound, ‘incoming’ takes a sharp turn into the shadows, influenced by the likes of MF Doom and The Alchemist. Jerk describes it as “a warning shot soundtrack for the anarchists and vigilantes”. Take a listen below.

Tortoise detail new album, Touch, and share lead single ‘Layered Presence’

11 September 2025

Photo: Heather Cantrell

Back in March, Tortoise hinted at a new album with the release of ‘Oganesson‘, an exhilarating and dynamic track that set the stage for something big. Now, the wait is over and the band have finally unwrapped Touch, their first album in nine years, arriving on October 24th through International Anthem and Nonesuch Records. The new album comes after a period of transformation for the quintet of Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs, John McEntire, and Jeff Parker. With the band scattered across three cities, Touch breaks from the band’s tradition of all being in one room, but despite the physical distance, they found a surprising connection. As Parker notes:

“It’s the first record we’ve done where everything wasn’t based in Chicago,” says Parker. “Two of us are in Chicago. Two of us are here in Los Angeles and John [McEntire] is in Portland, OR. We recorded in several different places. But the strange thing is, in a way it’s kind of the most cohesive session that we’ve done.”

For a band that’s always thrived on collaborative, in-person experimentation, the distance and remote work were a gamble. “We don’t work remotely, unfortunately. We kind of all have to be in the room together”, McEntire explaines. “For me the trial-and-error stage is very important. I didn’t want to lose that.”

On the new album, Tortoise expanded their sonic palette, blending everything from “aerodynamically re-engineered Krautrock, hand-cranked techno rave-ups, and pointillist spaghetti western fanfares”, as the press release describes. Touch embraces both complexity and grand gestures, pushing the boundaries of what their sound can achieve. As Herndon notes, “It becomes writing and arranging and editing and orchestrating and sort of getting things into a sonic space that feels good, all at the same time.”

Ahead of the album release, Tortoise have dropped the lead single ‘Layered Presence’, a track that leaves us itching for Touch to drop. The single is paired with a video directed by Mikel Patrick Avery, and you can watch it below.

Tortoise will also hit the road in October and November in support of Touch, with shows in LA, NYC, London and Chicago, including a special performance with the Chicago Philharmonic, and two shows at the Barbican for the EFG London Jazz Festival. The excitement continues into 2026 with a European tour kicking off in January, where they’ll perform in Finland, Sweden, Germany, France, Belgium, and Italy, and they’ll return in April for a second leg, hitting Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, and Portugal. More dates will be announced soon, so keep an eye out for your chance to see the legendary quintet live.

Gideon Broshy unveils second single, ‘String’, from upcoming debut album Nest

10 September 2025

Back in July, composer and pianist Gideon Broshy announced his highly anticipated debut album Nest, slated for release on September 26th through New Amsterdam Records. Along with the announcement, Broshy shared the playful and intricate lead single ‘Crumple‘, offering an exciting first look at the album’s rich electroacoustic sound. Now, ahead of the full album drop, Broshy has released a second single called ‘String’. The new track continues Broshy’s exploration of dynamic textures, unfolding with a delicate interplay between celeste, harpsichord, and synths, which, as the press release describes, “curl around each other like spindle fibers, gathering thickness and texture, before the clarinet breaks through, triggering a shimmering cascade of electroacoustic flourishes, clusters, and points.”

As we had mentioned, Nest features a remarkable cast of collaborators, including Matt Evans (drums), Mantawoman (dulcimer), Gleb Kanasevich (clarinet), and Grammy-winning producer William Brittelle.

Listen to ‘String’ below and be sure to check out the full album when it arrives later this month.