Sonna

An indie rock band from Baltimore, Maryland, Sonna were founded in 1998 by guitarist/vocalist Chris Mackie, drummer/guitarist Jim Redd, and bassist Paul Petersan. Guitarist Jeremy DeVine, who established the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Temporary+Residence%22">Temporary Residence</a> label in 1996, joined soon after the group's formation. Since much of Sonna's material was instrumental, they were often categorized as post-rock, but they always maintained a melodic sensibility as well as a penchant for experimentation and subtly complex arrangements.

Sonna made their debut in 1999 with three-song EP These Windows Are Pistons, as well as a split 7" single with the band <a href="spotify:artist:5By162Z4UlYq5Kv2pLSNKg">Paul Newman</a>, in which both groups performed takes on a song titled "Way to Breathe No Breath." In 2000, Sonna (now including bassist Drew Nelson in place of Petersan, who relocated to Texas) contributed The Eventual Bow to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Temporary+Residence%22">Temporary Residence</a>'s EP series Travels in Constants. The group also released the 7" single Kept Luminesce/Mirameko on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Static+Caravan%22">Static Caravan</a>. Sonna recorded their debut full-length, We Sing Loud Sing Soft Tonight, with <a href="spotify:artist:52ZFTGbQ9miWMX8JYBvtOO">Steve Albini</a> at his Electrical Audio Studios. The album was released in 2001 to critical acclaim.

In 2002, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Temporary+Residence%22">Temporary Residence</a> reissued Sonna's out of print <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Static+Caravan%22">Static Caravan</a> 7" on CD, and the EP Make Shift Carousel also appeared. The latter was a collaboration with electronic artists <a href="spotify:artist:2ROSWl1G4Yp9jKFxnCSxmT">Sybarite</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4QznygKOCPsevqsXvvBLxx">Lilienthal</a>; Sonna recorded raw acoustic tracks that were then remixed and added to by the others. They toured constantly during this period, sharing the stage with artists such as <a href="spotify:artist:2zAvisjImPICTNsRgagqlV">Bonnie "Prince" Billy</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1Lqqtkuf3lzDlSJ1AGK3vg">Tarentel</a> (for whom drummer Redd also played), and <a href="spotify:artist:1uQWmt1OhuHGRKmZ2ZcL6p">Explosions in the Sky</a>. Meanwhile, DeVine joined the English band <a href="spotify:artist:5g9s6dQAhse0qgjQOKQXHG">Fridge</a> as their touring guitarist. In early 2003, Sonna released the <a href="spotify:artist:52ZFTGbQ9miWMX8JYBvtOO">Albini</a>-recorded Smile and the World Smiles with You. By this time, half of the band had relocated away from Baltimore -- DeVine to Portland and Reid to San Francisco -- and Sonna became inactive. All of the group's non-album recordings (with the exception of Make Shift Carousel) were compiled on the 2016 double-LP Keep It Together. ~ Jason Nickey & Paul Simpson, Rovi