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David Torn (born 1953 in Amityville, New York, the year of "The Horror") is an American composer and guitarist known for the organic blending/manipulation of electronic+acoustic instruments and performance techniques that have an atmospheric or textural quality & effect, along with a particular harmonic richness. He is particularly well known among guitarists for his use and technological influence upon the development of looping effects. Torn studied with Leonard Bernstein (within the "Music for Young Composers" series), as well as with guitarists John Abercrombie, Pat Martino, Paul Weiss & Arthur Basile.

David Torn is married to a Brecht, is the son of L.J. and R. Torn, the father of both Elijah B Torn and Cody Torn, the brother of M. Torn, & he is a cousin of Rip Torn, Angelica Torn, Geraldine Page, Sissy Spacek and Ina Garten, AKA The Barefoot Contessa.

Torn began his career with the Ithaca-based jam band Zobo Funn Band in the 1970s, and rose to prominence as a member of The Everyman Band & Jan Garbarek's quartet in the mid-1980s. He has recorded six albums as a leader for the ECM, Windham Hill, CMP, and 75 Ark record labels. He has also recorded a series of CD-ROMs with looping and other ambient music & "integrated noise" materials that can be used as samples by other artists. Torn has contributed to quite a few recordings, including some by David Bowie, kd lang, John Legend, Tori Amos, Tony Levin, Mick Karn, David Sylvian, Chocolate Genius, Michael Shrieve, Steve Roach, Patrick O'Hearn, Andy Rinehart, Matt Chamberlain, Meshell Ndegeocello, Don Cherry, et cetera.

In 1992 he was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma; in his case, a life-threatening form of brain tumor. The surgery that followed left him deaf in the right ear, but didn't rob him of the ability to compose, record and play. Torn even mixes many widely available recordings, himself, although according to him this requires sitting sideways to the studio speakers and "visualising the stereo aspects of sound" in his head rather than experimenting with them by ear. He has, in fact, produced a Grammy-winning recording for Jeff Beck, as well as many recordings for Tim Berne, Drew Gress, Dave Douglas (another Grammy nominee), as well as many others.

Torn's contributions have been featured in a number of films, including Velvet Goldmine, Adaptation, The Big Lebowski, The Departed, Fur, The Hoax, Kalifornia (1993), Traffic (2000), Reversal of Fortune, Tibet, Three Kings, and so on. In 2006, Torn's film-score for Believe in Me won the Best Score-award at the Jackson Hole Film Festival; in 2005, he composed an evocative score to "Friday Night Lights", and in 2003, Torn's score for the film The Order was nominated for a Grammy Award.

He works out of his personal studios, known as Cell Labs; occasionally, he uses the pseudonym "splattercell".

• Everyman Band — Everyman Band (1982)
• Everyman Band — Without Warning (1985)
• Best Laid Plans (1985)
• Cloud About Mercury (1987)
• It's Okay to Listen to the Grey Voice --- Jan Garbarek & Eberhard Weber
• Door X (1990)
• Karn, Bozzio, Torn — Polytown (1994)
• Earthbeat (1995) — with Bebo Baldan
• Tripping Over God (1995)
• What Means Solid, Traveller? (1996)
• Reid, Sharp, Torn-GTR OBLQ (1998)
• splattercell: Textures for Electronica and Film Music (2000)
• splattercell: OAH (2001)
• splattercell: AH (2001)
• tonal textures
• pandora's toolbox
• The Order - Soundtrack (2003)
• Friday Night Lights - Soundtrack (2004)
• prezens (to be released April 17, 2007)

• Official David Torn site
• Official splattercell site
• David Torn interview with Anil Prasad of Innerviews (1990)
• David Torn interview Anil Prasad of Innerviews (1995)
• David Torn interview Anil Prasad of Innerviews (2001)
• Electronic Musician profile (2001)