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Sonar With David Torn
The Making of Vortex Documentary
2025 Director's Cut

The making of Sonar’s fourth release Vortex was all about living in the moment. After three quartet albums exploring the edges of minimalist groove, the Swiss group partnered with renowned guitarist, composer and producer David Torn for its new recording.

The band, comprised of guitarists Stephan Thelen and Bernhard Wagner, bassist Christian Kuntner and drummer Manuel Pasquinelli, has long been celebrated for combining the visceral power and dynamics of art rock with a minimalist aesthetic. For Vortex, the group, known for precision-based tritone compositions, wanted to add an element of wild abandon and unpredictability to the mix. It also wanted the recording to be focused on real-time interaction between the musicians with minimal post-session overdubs.

The quintet decamped to Powerplay studios in February 2017, located in Maur, Switzerland, 20 minutes outside of Zurich. Together with engineer D. James Goodwin, they set about combining Thelen’s compositions with Torn’s production oversight. But what began as a production relationship with the intention of having Torn also occasionally guest on tracks, rapidly evolved. Torn ended up performing on every track, essentially becoming a fifth band member throughout the sessions. They even stepped outside Sonar’s composition-focused approach and recorded an entirely-improvised track titled “Lookface!” which closes out Vortex.

Part of what makes Vortex such a successful collaboration is the chemistry between the members of Sonar and Torn. The sessions were full of energy and camaraderie. Things got “into the zone” within hours of starting, which meant the majority of the sessions’ output found their way onto the final album. The group also had great fun together, with Torn’s humorous take on the world keeping everyone laughing and defusing any moments of creative tension that arose. The fact that copious amounts of absinthe, red wine, and Swiss chocolate and cheese were consumed during many late-night gatherings probably also helped.

Innerviews was invited to observe the sessions and capture them as they evolved in this full-length documentary.

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