Adam Lygo

Adam Lygo

Adam Lygo is an experimental musician from England who works with layered guitar loops to explore rhythm, texture and dynamics. Since 1999, he has self-released eighteen solo albums on his own HIVEMUSIC label, along with an EP, a double CD with Paul Morgan on The Slightly Off Kilter Label, and a single on Slough Noize (197).

Music and approach

His recordings are made as improvised pieces, with an approach aimed at pushing guitar music towards laptop-based methods while keeping the live performance element intact. Across his work, he develops themed albums that range from the surreal philosophy of ants and the imagined inner workings of machines to the emotional turmoil of opium addiction and a Jungian journey into the mind’s maze.

Visual work and collaborations

Lygo also creates all of his CD artwork, developing the visuals over the same period as the recording and editing process so that the audio and visual elements remain closely connected. He is influenced more by visual aesthetics such as film and painting than by other musicians. He has written music for a contemporary dance company, worked with a screen print artist, and uses film in live performances as part of an improvised soundtrack rather than as background.

Other work

He has also provided incidental music for a late night radio station.