Don’t say you weren’t warned about this. It was only last November we were here in this space expounding the virtues of the Swiss minimalists Sonar and their second communion with guitarist, sound sculptor and producer extraordinaire David Torn. 2019’s Tranceportation (Volume 1) was Act 1 of fruitful recording session that produced enough music for two albums, and Act 2 — Tranceportation (Volume 2) — was held back for the following year.
Volume 2‘s time is now. As this comes out of the same sitting as the first volume, all the adjectives and metaphors applied to the first record applies here. There are the tritone guitars of Stephan Thelen and Bernhard Wagner, the tritone bass of Christian Kuntner and Manuel Pasquinelli’s drumming making what another Swiss musician might call “ritual groove music.” And then there’s that fifth guy Torn, who applies the colors with the paintbrushes of guitar effects to the precisely-defined sketches of the quartet.
The main figure repeating over and over on “Triskaidekaphilia” is the only simple thing about the song. Posited on an odd time signature, the bass and one guitar pair up on one pattern while the other guitar offers up a harmonic counterpoint. Torn is tossing drone-like live-looped backdrops that expand and recede like breathing and also slips in lead guitar that weaves around Thelen and Wagner. Torn’s pleading second solo around the six minute mark is the fully-flowered variety Torn guitar that can come from no one else.
Kuntner’s bass is so imposing on “Tranceportation” that whenever he briefly drops out, if feels as though the soul of the song got ripped out. Torn live-loops his guitar to ingrain himself so pervasively into the music, he is everywhere and hardly there at the same time, if you know what I mean.
Kuntner weds his bass line to Pasquinelli’s kick drum at times on “Slowburn” to form an unmovable rhythm. Torn is more active up front on this track, pouring out his aching, bending notes for tension release that doesn’t disrupt the carefully constructed vibe of Sonar, just puts the icing on the cake. Torn’s pillowy textures embrace the burly groove of “Cloud Chamber” but get increasingly belligerent as the song progresses and then discreetly backs off again, like an attitude bell curve.
Hypnotic as background music that becomes compelling with deep listening, Tranceportation (Volume 2) continues the match made in heaven between Sonar and David Torn. RareNoise Records is expected to release Tranceportation (Volume 2) on June 26, 2020.
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