Roy Montgomery was born in London, England but lives in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand. Roy is essentially a home recording artist who makes compositions on six-string electric guitar some of which have vocals added. Across several decades he has released several self-produced 45s, LPs and CDs on various independent labels including Drunken Fish, Kranky, vhf, Grapefruit and, most recently, Discreet Records, who released Broken Heart Surgery in 2025. He was involved in bands such as the Pin Group (whose debut single was the first to be released on iconic New Zealand indie label Flying Nun in 1981), Dadamah, Dissolve and Hash Jar Tempo (with Bardo Pond) and he has collaborated with other artists such as Flying Saucer Attack, Liz Harris (Grouper), Julianna Barwick, Purple Pilgrims, Emma Johnston, Haley Fohr (Circuit des Yeux), Alicia Merz (Birds of Passage) and Martha Skye Murphy. Roy very rarely gives live performances. The material on Guitars Infernal was recorded in 2016 during a great deal of turbulence in Roy’s home life and is being released in 2026 because, while wholly instrumental, it “speaks” to extremely turbulent times in the world at large.
