Montague Armstrong Talk New Album, Favourite Instruments And More

Montague Armstrong live and work at 15 Kings Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea, which is situated in East Sussex on the English south coast. They operate an original fine print workshop upstairs and a music lab downstairs that contains transistor Hammond organs and vintage amplifiers, including a Supersound amp that was actually made on their street in 1960. Their latest album ‘Modern Classics’ is out now and they kindly chatted to us:

Who is in Montague Armstrong, what do they play and how did you meet?

Jude Montague – Hammond organ, guitar, vocals, keys
Matt Armstrong – Drums, electric bass, guitar, backing vocals
We met in East London around the Tom Allen Arts Centre in Stratford.

When did you begin songwriting?

Jude – Always done it. Notes on the piano, setting poems.
Matt – wrote instrumental music in my teens.

What is your earliest musical memory?

Jude – I was always obsessed with music but then I had a musical granddad who played cello in Halle Orchestra and an older brother who was ahead of me learning piano, selecting pop records etc.
Matt – Pop music – I remember Tiger Feet by Mud and The Dean and I by 10cc

You have released the track ‘GENEE MARC’ which is out now. What was the inspiration/story behind the track?

In the street where our workshop is there is a French chap called Marc who has an alter-ego, Genee. When he is hyper he becomes the very unruly Genee. His wild personality is the inspiration. But musically it is probably inspired by an interest in golden age Bollywood and a love of R D Burman.

The single is accompanied by an official music video. What was the thought process behind the video and who directed it?

We did it ourselves as you can probably see. The idea was that we would just do it in our studio so you could see some of our things in our music basement. We have a odd selection of vintage musical equipment and other items we have built up over time and which hang out with us in our recording studio.

In addition, you have released your new album ‘Modern Classics’ via Dimple Discs. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

It was made entirely by the two of us in our little studio, using analogue equipment including tape machines, a mix-matched drum-kit, Hammond organ that we picked up from Oxford University and some donated mics from friends we have known, like Paul Robinson from Canadian post-punk band The Diodes, an Alex Winter minimoog made on his kitchen table in Wales in the 1990s.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

See above. In our workshop in St Leonards-on-Sea.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the album recording sessions?

We did a lot of musical experimentation and also didn’t do drop-ins, we recorded everything live. Because there are only two of us we only play two instruments at once, so even when we have to build up the tracks everything goes down live. ‘Baltaitina’, the Latvian song on the album has, unusually (for this album), got a mysterious atmosphere from actually playing the dust that was on the Hammond drawbars.

Do you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for your music?

Everything is analogue, our equipment has been gathered over our lives from musician friends. The Hammond Organ is a T102, a transistor Hammond which we are particularly fond of. We use the reiterated mallet/plucked sound on the upper manual. Matt’s bass is a 1972 Fender Musicmaster which has a warm 1960s bounce. On GENEE MARC we use a Burns Transistor Amp, Sonic 20 and even an old Burns guitar, that to be honest has been ‘improved’ by someone and is rather erratic as a consequence but it has a wild metallic tone.

Which of your new tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

a) GENEE MARC is so upbeat it’s almost frenzied, like the best 1960s and early 70s Bollywood from R D Burman.
b) We don’t really do angry music
c) EGGER or EGGA (the spelling keeps changing) is very peaceful and comforting, otherworldly and dreamy.

Who created/designed the album artwork?

Matt did the design using Jude’s original fine art prints. The front image is also a mural in the alleyway next to the Kings Road workshop in Laser Lane.

Was it a difficult album to write?

After our album ‘Organ Greats’, Brian O’Neill from Dimple Discs said he would put out our next album. We were so excited we immersed ourselves in the studio and the album just appeared. We used our analogue instruments to help write it, getting interesting sounds and lines to trigger the composing. On CODER for example, we used an old Hammond drum machine on which we switched off the clave, cymbal and snare settings just leaving the bass drum beat for us to play the drum kit over.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

Currently live we are working with a drummer, Stiv Rippengal, so we are working on getting a complete sound as a three piece. Wreckless Eric saw the two of us playing on top of a raggedy backing track (which had its own beauty) but urged us to ‘be brave’, ditch the backing track and let the audience hear the spaces. So we did.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Interestingly we have two alternative stage set ups, one with keys and one with guitar. With keys we like to use an old Farfisa dual manual organ with a Top Gear Sound Rotator which is basically a Leslie speaker simulator from the 1960s. For the guitar set we play a delux Strat from the 1980s and a VOX AC 15 from the early 1990s, a classic combination. We don’t really use pedals, and definitely not digital effects. Matt likes to use his old Musicmaster bass. Stiv will play anyone’s drum kit.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

We all live in Hastings / St Leonards-on-Sea. Seaside, art, music, festivals, lots of dogs.

How do you look after your voices?

We don’t really. They are just there.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Jude – something epic, with a lot of variety, satire and humour – like Gulliver’s Travels.
Matt – Canterbury Tales – lots of characters, down-to-earth observation, chance for lots of experimentation.

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

Jude – some of my choral background came out in this album, also Bollywood instrumentation on film scores like Sholay and Lagaan
Matt – on this album, Motown with the wonderful playing and rhythm section and David Munro’s early music revival

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2024/2025?

We are playing regularly in Hastings. The first Tuesday of every month at the famous music pub the Jenny Lind we perform with The Barbarian Horde for ‘Adventures in Pop’ an evening of creative and original pop music. Occasional nights at The Pig with some legendary guests like John Otway, Amy Rigby and Wreckless Eric. An Irish tour is being planned with our label Dimple Discs.

What makes Montague Armstrong happy and what makes you unhappy?

Mostly making music and other stuff. That’s how we deal with happiness and unhappiness.