Roy Montgomery

Last updated

Roy Montgomery
Born1959 (age 64–65)
London, England
Origin Christchurch, New Zealand
Genres
Occupation(s) Musician, professor
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active1980–present
Labels Drunken Fish, Kranky, Grapefruit
Formerly of

Roy Montgomery (born 1959) is a composer, guitarist and lecturer from Christchurch, New Zealand. Montgomery's mostly instrumental solo works have elements of post-rock, lo-fi, folk and avant-garde experimentation. His signature sound might be described as atmospheric or cinematic, often featuring complex layers of chiming, echoing and/or droning guitar phrases. He is currently head of the environmental management department at Lincoln University in New Zealand. [2]

Contents

Montgomery has played in several bands since the late 1970s, most notably The Pin Group, Dadamah, Dissolve and Hash Jar Tempo. He has released solo albums on labels including Kranky and Drunken Fish, as well as collaborations with artists like Flying Saucer Attack and Grouper. Music critic Brett Abrahamsen opined that "in a just and fair world... books would be written about Montgomery's greatness." [3]

Biography

Early life

Montgomery was born in 1959 in London, England and moved with his family to Cologne in Germany where he lived until the age of four. [4] His father was German and his mother was from the UK. As his mother worked for the British Forces Broadcasting Service, Montgomery was exposed mostly to the pop music of the United States rather than the music of Germany. [5] In the mid-1960s he moved with his mother to Christchurch, New Zealand.

Early career

In 1980, he formed The Pin Group with bass player Ross Humphries and drummer Peter Stapleton. The group debuted with the single "Ambivalence" in 1981, the first release on newly founded label Flying Nun Records (released a week before the Clean's "Tally Ho!"). They recorded a handful of singles, an EP, and only performed inside New Zealand before disbanding in January 1982. [6] Montgomery later worked with Stapleton again in Dadamah, formed in 1990.

Solo career

Montgomery had been composing and recording acoustic work since 1982, much of which he would integrate into his 1990s work. [5] Although he enjoys collaborating with other artists, Montgomery is mostly drawn to working alone, which he attributes to growing up as an only child. He travelled through America from 1994 to 1995 after his wife Jo passed away in 1992. He spent time in New York in a sub-let apartment writing music by himself on a four-track recorder, where he recorded Scenes from the South Island, Temple IV , and some singles.

Montgomery described Scenes from the South Island as “about being away from your home country. I’ve never tired of the imagery that generated the album, and those landscapes are still places I go to, physically or in my mind. Those visions of space and atmosphere – the absence of busy, human life – populate a lot of what I do. It’s regenerative, an existential thing.” [7] Scenes from the South Island was released in 1995 on Drunken Fish, and Temple IV was released on Kranky in 1996.

Academic career

Montgomery completed a master's thesis titled "Thou shalt take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and/or consider Maori cultural, traditional, and spiritual values": implications for research management at Lincoln University in 1990. [8]

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Collaborations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying Nun Records</span> New Zealand independent record label

Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by The Guardian as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringing global attention to the Dunedin sound, a cultural and musical movement in early 1980s Dunedin.

The Dunedin sound was a musical and cultural movement in Dunedin, Otago, in the early 1980s. It helped found indie rock as a genre. The scene is associated with Flying Nun Records an independent label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bardo Pond</span> American psychedelic rock band

Bardo Pond are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1991, and who are currently signed to London-based label Fire Records. The current members are Michael Gibbons (guitar), John Gibbons (guitar), Isobel Sollenberger, Clint Takeda and Jason Kourkounis (drums). Bardo Pond's music is often classified as space rock, acid rock, post-rock, shoegazing, noise or psychedelic rock. Some Bardo Pond album titles have been derived from the names of esoteric psychedelic substances. Their sound has been likened to Pink Floyd, Spacemen 3 and My Bloody Valentine amongst others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying Saucer Attack</span> English experimental space rock band

Flying Saucer Attack is an English space rock band formed in Bristol in 1992, led by songwriter David Pearce. Rachel Brook of Movietone was a member during the band's early incarnation; Other musicians contributing to the group's recordings and live performances included Rocker, Matt Elliott and Sam Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drinking song</span> Song sung while drinking alcohol

A drinking song is a song sung while drinking alcohol. Most drinking songs are folk songs or commercium songs, and may be varied from person to person and region to region, in both the lyrics and in the music.

Dadamah were a band from New Zealand, active during the early 1990s. The band consisted of Kim Pieters, Peter Stapleton, Roy Montgomery, and Janine Stagg. They released their sole album This Is Not a Dream in 1992. After the band broke up, the members went on to numerous other music projects, including Flies Inside The Sun, Doramaar, Dissolve, and Rain.

Peter James Stapleton was a musician from New Zealand, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the alternative rock band The Terminals. Stapleton was also a member of the groups Vacuum, The Pin Group, Dadamah, Flies Inside the Sun, Eye, and Scorched Earth Policy.

<i>Amanita</i> (album) 1996 studio album by Bardo Pond

Amanita is the second studio album by American rock band Bardo Pond, released on April 3, 1996. It was released as a single CD and cassette on Matador Records, their first release on the label, and as a double vinyl LP on Drunken Fish Records with two bonus tracks. Counting their four early self-released cassettes, this is the band's sixth or seventh album, but is generally viewed as their third officially-released album.

South Indies is a rights and publishing label established in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1984 as a vinyl records label and small book publisher. It released vinyl, books, cassettes and video-cassettes before moving into the leasing of material to distributing labels, and the protection of existing copyright. It subsumes various "one-off" projects and imprints such as Alpha Books (NZ), Tank Publishing, 5 to 12 publishing and some early Titus Books titles. It has entered into collaborative or licensed releases with enterprises Powertool Records (NZ), Sophomore Lounge (USA), Grapefruit (USA), Partizanska (Serbia) and Zelle (Austria). It has facilitated use of existing artwork for publications such as In Love With These Times and, more recently, a 92-page colour illustrated artbook dedicated to the artists of the early Flying Nun period, Hellzapoppin.

Bilders is a New Zealand music group of varying lineups that produced a string of self-recorded 7-inch vinyl releases between 1980 and 1982 leading to Beatin Hearts, the first studio-album from fledgling New Zealand independent record label 'Flying Nun Records'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hash Jar Tempo</span> Roy Montgomery-Bardo Pond collaboration

Hash Jar Tempo is a collaborative musical project between the members of Philadelphia-based psychedelic band Bardo Pond and experimental guitarist and composer Roy Montgomery. The band was founded in March 1995 and have released two albums, Well Oiled and Under Glass, and have never toured.

<i>Well Oiled</i> (Hash Jar Tempo album) 1997 studio album by Hash Jar Tempo

Well Oiled is the first recorded collaboration between Bardo Pond and Roy Montgomery, released under the name Hash Jar Tempo on March 17, 1997 by Drunken Fish Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Heaphy</span> New Zealand painter (born 1965)

Chris Heaphy is a New Zealand artist who is based in Auckland. His work explores cultural issues with a greater focus on the relationship between Māori and Pākehā due to the artist's background.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Torlesse</span> New Zealand surveyor (1825–1866)

Charles Obins Torlesse was a prominent surveyor for the Canterbury Association in Canterbury, New Zealand.

<i>Scenes from the South Island</i> 1995 studio album by Roy Montgomery

Scenes from the South Island is the debut studio album of guitarist and composer Roy Montgomery, released on 5 September 1995 by Drunken Fish Records. The album was remastered and reissued on 29 November 2019 by Liz Harris' label, Yellow Electric. The reissue includes three additional songs not present on the original release, and also clarifies the proper titles and running order of the original songs.

<i>True</i> (Roy Montgomery and Chris Heaphy album) 1999 studio album by Roy Montgomery/Chris Heaphy

True is an album by guitarists Roy Montgomery and Chris Heaphy, released on 6 April 1999 through Kranky.

<i>324 E. 13th Street 7</i> 1999 compilation album by Roy Montgomery

324 E. 13th Street #7 is a compilation by composer and guitarist Roy Montgomery, released on 16 November 1999 through Drunken Fish Records.

<i>Beatin Hearts</i> 1983 studio album by Builders

Beatin Hearts is the debut studio album by New Zealand band Builders. It was recorded in August 1982 and released in 1983. Characteristically for the band, the album caused typographical difficulties for critics writing about the album, as its title contains an ambiguous character. The capital "I" of the word "Beatin" contains a cross bar in the centre, so that it doubles as an "E". The title may therefore be read as both "Beatin' Hearts" and "Beaten Hearts".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple Pilgrims</span> New Zealand musical duo

Purple Pilgrims is a New Zealand dream pop duo composed of sisters Clementine and Valentine Nixon.

The Pin Group was a post-punk band formed in 1980 in Christchurch, New Zealand. They were the first band released on Flying Nun Records, and featured Roy Montgomery, Peter Stapleton, Ross Humphries, Mary Heney, and Peter Fryer.

References

  1. ↑ Ankeny, Jason. "Biography". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  2. ↑ "Staff Profile: Roy Montgomery". Lincoln University. 3 June 2012. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "Perfect Sound Forever: Roy Montgomery". Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  4. ↑ McGonigal, Mike (26 July 2011). Yeti Eleven. Verse Chorus Press. pp. 38–47. ISBN   9780982981917. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  5. 1 2 Gustafsson, Mats (2007). ""Simple Patterns to Useful Effect": The Music of Roy Montgomery". Deep Water Acres. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "Ambivalence - Pin Group". Flying Nun Records. 2013. Archived from the original on 6 February 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  7. ↑ Chick, Stevie (29 November 2022). "Cult guitarist Roy Montgomery on Flying Nun, grief and embracing mistakes: 'It's an existential thing'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Montgomery, Roy (1990). "Thou shalt take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and/or consider Maori cultural, traditional, and spiritual values" : implications for resource management (Masters thesis). Research@Lincoln, University of Canterbury. hdl:10182/2722. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  9. ↑ "Rebis Recordings | TSG: Torlesse Super Group". Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.