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Ray Montford Bio
Inspired by Buddhist philosophy and by his love of the open road – he’s an avid motorcyclist - the one-time accompanist for the Rankin Family and Mary Jane Lamond composes stirring instrumentals that wring emotion from every note. Montford, who was named 2007’s Instrumentalist to Watch by Galaxie, is embarking on a rare Western Canadian tour with drummer Gary Craig (Bruce Cockburn, Tom Cochrane). He’s touring to launch his new, digital-only album, The Live Sessions (Candyrat Records), a collection of pieces drawn mostly from his 2007 release, A Fragile Balance, performed in Ray’s current, more muscular performance style. The sessions were captured live off the floor on high-definition video. The first three videos, posted on Candyrat’s YouTube channel, have already received a combined total of over 50,000 views. Montford describes the creation of A Fragile Balance – and, by extension, The Live Sessions-as “therapeutic,” a process that helped him get his spirit back after a serious injury and some personal events left him feeling like he was wading through quick sand. There had never been any question of his talent as a composer - his music appears in some 20 documentaries, films and television specials, including NBC’s The Legacy of Jon Gates – but with Balance, he found his voice as a performer. Having previously proven his metal with everything from acoustic fingerstyle to jazz and world, Montford settled into the British anthemic sound of pure impassioned electric, creating spacious sonic landscapes that suggest a connection with the natural elements – that same feeling bikers describe experiencing out on a deserted stretch of highway. Montford has been playing guitar ever since he was 12 and got serious about it at 18. He studied audio engineering, production, and performance in the Music Industry Arts program at Fanshawe College and did session work on the side. He also did a term at Humber. Montford continued to do session work after college, while also performing with The Look People and with Paul Meyers’ Gravelberries. He released his first solo project in 1991, a solo acoustic fingerstyle album that was reissued in 2005 as The Early Sessions. Montford recorded a breakthrough album, Shed Your Skin, in 1997, a collection of mostly acoustic instrumental numbers with a world music vibe. The backing arrangements included congas, tabla and udu, from Tasa's Ravi Naimpally, while the compositions ranged in influence from Latin to Middle Eastern and Celtic. One song, “Take me Back,” featured vocals by Cookie Rankin. Windham Hill Records founder William Ackerman described Shed Your Skin as “a brilliant record” and “one of the best-recorded guitar records I've ever heard in my life!" He also praised Montford’s “incredible playing” and “singular musical voice.” Montford followed up Shed Your Skin with 2000’s One Step Closer, a more intimate, mostly acoustic record that retained some of the world influence of Skin. Ed Hanley of Autorickshaw played tablas, overtone singer Yuri Gorbachow collaborated on the track “Coming Home” and Middle Eastern singer Jennifer Moore vocalized on “Take Me with You.” 2003’s Many Roads marked the beginning of a shift in direction for Montford away from the atmospheric world-influenced acoustic picking of his previous work and more towards electric blues, roots and jazz. Recorded partially in a wilderness cottage, the album featured Steve O’Connor on B3, Wurlitzer and Rhodes. With A Fragile Balance, Montford completed the transition to electric, losing some of the more overt blues and world influences from his music and reclaiming the soulful, emotive, contemplative and atmospheric qualities of his earlier recordings. The result is a body of work that sounds as powerful and serene as a road trip through majestic surroundings. As it happens, Montford isn’t just a distinguished composer and musician. For him, the music and the sound quality are inseparable elements of his work, and his skill as a producer and engineer has made him a darling of the audiophile community. 1997’s Shed Your Skin caught the attention of Montreal’s Totem Acoustic, who distributed it at North American hi-fi shows and gave it out to customers who bought their speakers. They also gave copies to Bay Bloor Radio to use as demos when selling their systems. That netted Montford praise in at least one major audiophile glossy. When not performing his own work, Montford runs his own studio, Soundhole Studios, where he has worked with artists like Mary Jane Lamond, The Brothers Creeggan and Autorickshaw. Montford’s moving instrumentals have been heard on national CBC radio and in the CBS television series The Eleventh Hour, the CBC TV documentary Marymount Again, and the PBS/Vision TV series Marginless Living and Who is My Neighbour – among other places.
"The ever-tasteful musician has a gift for grand musical moments that retain their intimacy... an atmospheric, emotional road well worth travelling." "Ray Montford is a sensitive and exploratory musician who combines traditional techniques with " shed your skin is a brilliant record... incredible playing... singular musical voice ... and one of the best recorded guitar records I've ever heard in my life!" "As hypnotic as a highway at night, always-moving, always-changing scenery, the kind of music
photos by Cameron Maclennan and Greg Stott |
You’ve got your ace fingerstyle players and your high-speed electric guitar noodlers, but there aren’t too many musicians out there playing electric with the soul of a David Gilmour or a Mark Knopfler. Ray Montford might just be the only guy in Canada pulling it off with such flair.
Listen to Ray's Albums
