Roy Montgomery
Biography
Experimental guitarist Roy Montgomery was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand, forming his first band, the teen garage combo the Psychedeliks, in 1971. After serving out the remainder of the decade in similarly obscure outfits including Compulsory Fun and Murder Strikes Pink, in late 1980 he co-founded the seminal Kiwi post-punk trio the Pin Group; their debut single "Ambivalence" was also the first record ever issued on the now-legendary indie label Flying Nun, its echoing, darkly melodic guitar sound foreshadowing the evocative sonic approach Montgomery would continue to pursue for the remainder of his career. After the Pin Group disbanded in 1982, a year later he received a $750 National Arts Council grant to form the Shallows, their lone 1985 single "Suzanne Said" further honing Montgomery's expansive drone aesthetic. However, he then spent the next five years largely removed from music, instead balancing his studies of Russian language and literature with his interests in cinema and avant-garde theater.
Montgomery returned to performing in 1990 after a chance meeting with fellow Pin Group alum Peter Stapleton led to an invitation to join the fledgling noise-pop band Dadamah.
Selected Discography
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