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David Torn

David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping.

Background
Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse as David Bowie, k.d. lang, John Legend, Madonna, Tori Amos, Bill Bruford, Tony Levin, Mick Karn, David Sylvian, Chocolate Genius, Michael Shrieve, Steve Roach, Patrick O’Hearn, Andy Rinehart, Matt Chamberlain, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Don Cherry.

In addition to his composition work, Torn’s music has been featured in a wide variety of films, including Friday Night Lights, Velvet Goldmine, Adaptation, The Big Lebowski, The Departed, Fur, The Hoax, Kalifornia, Traffic, Reversal of Fortune, Tibet, and Three Kings. He studied with Leonard Bernstein (within the “Music for Young Composers” series), as well as with guitarists John Abercrombie, Pat Martino, Paul Weiss, and Arthur Basile. Torn works out of his personal studios, known as Cell Labs; occasionally, he uses the pseudonym “splattercell.”