Hugh Davies

Hugh Davies (1943–2005) studied music at Worcester College, Oxford, from 1961 to 1964, then moved to Cologne to become Karlheinz Stockhausen’s personal assistant, assembling and documenting material for his compositions and performing in his live ensemble. Davies went on to build experimental instruments from ordinary household objects, most notably the shozyg — a generic term for instruments built inside book covers, the first housed in an encyclopedia volume spanning “SHO–” to “ZYG–.” He played live electronics in the Music Improvisation Company from 1968 to 1971 and in the ensemble Gentle Fire from 1968 to 1975, founded and directed Goldsmiths, University of London’s Electronic Music Studios from 1968 to 1986, and published a comprehensive international electronic-music catalog in 1968. He later appeared on Talk Talk’s 1988 album Spirit of Eden.