Lytton, Paul
Lytton, Paul
Lytton, Paul, English percussionist and instrument maker; b. London, England, March 8,1947. He has been one of the figureheads in bringing the amplified world of small sounds and homemade electronic processors to the world of improvised music. Playing in both London and Aachen, Germany, in the late 1960s and early ’70s, he began an important duo with saxophonist Evan Parker, a vast influence on later improvisers. This eventually turned into the Evan Parker Trio with the addition of Barry Guy on bass. He also worked in duo with percussionist Paul Lovens, based out of Aachen, and co-founded the fantastic Po-Torch label, which releases free improvised music circling around Lytton, Lovens, and Parker. He is also trained in dentistry; the cover of Derek Bailey’s Guitar Solos 2 shows some picks made by Lytton out of dental plate materials.
Discography
Ode (1972); Collective Calls (Urban) (1972); Live at Unity Theatre (1975); Ra 1+2 (1976); Was It Me? (1977); The Inclined Stick (1979); Hook, Drift, and Shuffle (1983); Tracks (1983); Atlanta (1986); Binaurality (1992); Breaths and Heartbeats (1994); 50th Anniversary Concert (1994); Natives and Aliens (1996); The Balance of Trade (1996); Two Octobers (1996).
—Jim O’Rourke