Everybody Loves A Happy Ending

The Paradox Twin frontman and sole songwriter, Danny Sorrell, began work on his band's third LP, A Romance Of Many Dimensions, during a turbulent period in his personal life. Now on the other side, he reflects on both a solitary and collaborative creative process, and how his own experiences with grief, isolation and digital dependency are mirrored in the album's concept.

- Dan Peeke

Two or three years ago, I was going through quite a bad time mentally,” says Danny Sorrell, songwriter and frontman of The Paradox Twin, from his guitar-adorned home studio.

“I work as an engineer, which means I already spend my entire day staring at screens, so eventually, after dealing with severe anxiety, depression and the devastating loss of my sister, the isolation of sitting in a house all day really took its toll,” he continues, his openness not derailed by the immediate depth of our conversation.

“Using the digital world as a shield became a way to numb my brain so I wouldn’t have to be alone with my thoughts. When the screens finally went off, the anxiety and grief were still sitting right there waiting for me. It wasn’t until I came out the other side that I realised how deep in it I was.”

Sorrell used these experiences as the conceptual framework for The Paradox Twin’s semi-autobiographical third album, A Romance Of Many Dimensions.

“The album centres on a protagonist who has completely retreated from the physical world,” he explains. “In reality, his life is defined by profound loneliness, but when he logs into his computer, everything changes. There, he perceives himself as a robot with a purpose, a mission, and a sense of control.”

Like Sorrell, the unnamed central character is aware of the complexities of the real world, and his retreat can only offer temporary safety.

Sorrell started writing the album “right in the thick of the darkest period”. Rather than looking back on the past from a place of safety, he laid the emotional foundations in real time.

“I’m incredibly glad I wrote the core of the music on my own,” he says.