Ant Law & Chris Montague Quartet

200 Fathoms is a powerful new quartet led by two of the most distinctive and forward-thinking guitarists to emerge from the UK in recent years: Chris Montague and Ant Law. United by deep mutual respect and a shared appetite for risk, texture and groove, the pair have come together to create a body of original music that is bold, exploratory and uncompromisingly contemporary.

The project was first sparked by a duo performance several years ago. What began as an intense musical conversation has now expanded into a fully realised quartet, drawing on a wide spectrum of modern influences while retaining a strong sense of identity and purpose. The result is music that is rhythmically driven, harmonically rich and alive with interplay.

200 Fathoms features Conor Chaplin on bass and Jamie Murray on drums — two of the most in-demand and inventive rhythm-section players on the UK and European scenes. Together, the four musicians form a band of rare chemistry, equally capable of precision and abandon.

The quartet recently recorded their debut album at Eastcote Studios, London, capturing the intensity and nuance of this new collaboration. The record documents a band operating at full stretch: tightly composed material opening into expansive improvisation, with Montague and Law’s contrasting guitar voices weaving, colliding and coalescing over a fiercely responsive rhythm section.

Chris Montague is widely recognised as a guitarist, composer and producer of singular vision. As a founding member of Troyka and Warmer than Blood, he has earned acclaim for redefining the role of the guitar in contemporary jazz and beyond. His work spans collaborations with artists including Squarepusher, Benny Greb, Janek Gwizdala, Dave Douglas, Django Bates, Shinya Fukumori and the BBC Concert Orchestra, alongside commissions for the Royal Academy of Music Big Band, Threads Orchestra, and major UK jazz festivals. Montague is also a Spitfire Audio and Native instruments recording artist.

Ant Law, based in London, has been described by The Guardian as “a game changer” and “an innovator”. Now on his sixth album as a leader, his work is marked by restless creativity and a refusal to be stylistically boxed in. Alongside his own projects, including the acclaimed Same Moon in the Same World collaboration with saxophonist Alex Hitchcock, Law has built an international reputation for music that is both intellectually rigorous and viscerally exciting.

With 200 Fathoms, Montague and Law channel their combined experience into a new, collective voice — one that pushes beyond genre boundaries while remaining deeply grounded in feel, interaction and sound. The forthcoming album marks the beginning of a compelling new chapter for all involved.