A Q&A with Ant Law
London-based guitarist fuses jazz, physics and spontaneity…
What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
Unified Theories. It’s about starting out from a point of agreement, rather than focusing on our differences. It also has a more scientific meaning in the realm of physics, which I studied at university.
What was the hardest part about putting your latest release together, and why?
I chose a brand new group of musicians to play with for this album. Doing this, in a sense you can construct your ideal “dream band”, but it throws you right out of your comfort zone.
Who produced your latest release – what did they bring to it? If you produced it yourselves what do you enjoy most about producing your own material?
When recording is complete, I enjoy listening back to multiple takes of the same tracks and choosing my favourite takes. I even sometimes stick more than one take together in the editing process. I actually included two takes of one of the songs on the album because I liked both takes so much, there were amazing saxophone and piano solos I wanted everyone to hear.
What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
I want them to experience something compelling and enjoyable that they haven’t experienced before. Music, for me at least, is about “stories” even though there are often no words. So I want to bring people along on the journey of each song.
How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
There is so much composition that happens at home over a long period of time. Often I’ll find a voice memo on my phone from years and years ago, but it’ll inspire me and I’ll start to develop it. Then it gets notated and put in front of the other musicians. That’s where you relinquish control and allow them to do what they do – there’s lots of trust involved with this style of music. You give directions but allow the musicians to be guided mostly by their own instincts.
What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
The musicians in the band. The music is highly spontaneous, often conversational, and can go in any direction at any time based on the decisions they make. People liken it to tightrope walking. The difference is the audience are on the tightrope with us.
What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
A while back I had a tour in China that fell through, so I’m very much hoping to get back out there and complete that unfinished business. I also have lots of listeners in Japan so it’d be great to play there too. I’m going to run the Tokyo marathon in March 2026 so aiming to do some performing around then. However, my favourite musicians are all from NYC, so I’d love to play some of the small clubs there one day – Smalls, Ornithology or the Village Vanguard (the most legendary venue for jazz ever!).
If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
Check out ‘Parity’, it’s a fun tune to play and quite representative of what we do.
What ambitions do you have for your career?
I just want to keep surviving and creating music, playing with amazing musicians like I currently am. I consider myself very fortunate to have this privilege.
Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
Thanks (in advance) for coming and listening with open ears!
Find out more about Ant Law at Instagram
