The Swiss quartet SONAR has quickly gained international
reputation for creating a unique blend of forward-thinking instrumental music
imbued with power, tension and emotional identity. With their slow-build
approach to dramaturgy and avoidance of conventional forms, they focus on
collective group efforts and a deeper kind of interaction amongst their members
Stephan Thelen (guitar), Bernhard Wagner (guitar), Christian Kuntner (electric
bass) and Manuel Pasquinelli (drums).
For their internationally acclaimed fourth album “Vortex”
(RareNoiseRecords), Sonar made an unexpected move by adding the expressive,
experimental and deeply emotional playing of US guitarist and producer David
Torn to their precise and disciplined polyrhythmic groove tapestry, thus adding
the yin to their yang.
For this new vinyl release, legendary producer, remixer and
bass guitarist Bill Laswell remixed and reconstructed two tracks from “Vortex”,
also adding electronics and his signature bass guitar.
How did this (again unexpected and unlikely) collaboration
happen? Sonar's guitarist and composer Stephan Thelen tells the story: “My
friend and music journalist Anil Prasad wrote an e-mail telling me that he was
meeting Bill Laswell for dinner and wondered if I would want him to ask if Bill
would be willing to do two Sonar remixes. Since Bill has always been one of my
favorite musicians, I of course said yes. Then things went really fast. Bill
agreed to do it, but he wanted to do them soon, because his schedule was about
to get very tight. I talked to the band, we decided which two pieces Bill
should remix and then sent the multitracks to James Dellatacoma, Bill's
engineer. Exactly 9 days after Anil's e-mail, we had two stunning remixes in
our dropbox.”
In Anil's words, this is a “Zürich-New York sonic summit
where minimalist groove meets maximum dub.”
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