With over half a million YouTube subscribers and 350k Instagram followers, it's fair to say Sophie Lloyd has discovered the winning formula for social media success.
Her reimagined shred covers of classic songs have garnered her not only legions of supporters, but a Kiesel signature guitar, too: the Limited Artist Edition A6H Aries.
Recently, her efforts caught the eye of Muse frontman Matt Bellamy, who was reportedly so impressed with her work he sent her a Manson MA EVO Floyd Rose Sustainiac electric guitar.
And as you'd expect, she wasted no time putting the instrument to work. In her latest cover, Lloyd shreds through Origin of Symmetry lead single Plug In Baby, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the track's release.
Plugging in her trademark Diezel VH4 amp head, Lloyd implements all manner of six-string wizardry, replacing the track's vocal line with everything from rapid ascending hammer-on lines to jaw-dropping sweeps.
“I am quite a methodical writer,” Lloyd said in a recent Guitar World interview, detailing her approach to piecing together shred covers. “I think it is one of my biggest weaknesses, but also one of my biggest strengths.
“I find it very challenging to just put on a back track and think, ‘Oh yeah, here we go!’ And then just shred something...
“I like that proper nerdy thing – sit down with headphones and try and write the piece mathematically, in a way. ‘Play this here. I’ll play this there. And then I’ll wanna do a shredding part here.’ I’ll really think it through and process it, and once I have written it, then it’s, ‘Okay, now I have to learn how to play this.’”
