Loop: BIG RED EYES

Torri Weidinger

Album: bunny with tunnel vision
Release Date: 2025
USA



Torri Weidinger has a way of writing songs that feel deceptively simple — intimate on the surface, but built with emotional precision. Her track “BIG RED EYES” stands out for how quietly it captures distance and self-awareness, weaving a late-night kind of tension through its restrained production. For this edition of Loop Songs, we spoke with Torri about the story behind “Big Red Eyes”, how it took shape in the studio, and the space it still holds for her now.

I remember the night I wrote BIG RED EYES. I was sitting on my bed, day-dreaming about this person I had recently connected with. I wanted her to be my partner, I was antsy and confessional and desperately needed to let it out. Our connection was cosmic, and I struggled to hold my desire without needing more from the situation. Writing the bridge of BIG RED EYES helped me remember that I can’t control my feelings, only observe them. My humanness and vulnerability is not a weakness. Huge yearning song, story of my life.

Torri on how BIG RED EYES was first born

Congratulations on your sophomore album, Torri! What did you find most different between making your first record and this one — in how you approached the writing, recording, or even how you see yourself as an artist now?

Thank you so much! The biggest difference in the two records was how they were tracked. For ‘all in good Time,’ we tracked 9 songs over the course of 8 months– slowly adding each element. At the time, I was studying cello in college and decided to make a record out of pure curiosity of what I’d come up with. I was new to songwriting. After the release of my first LP, I grew into the identity of being an artist, not just an instrumentalist. We recorded ‘bunny with tunnel vision’ in only 3 weeks– a vast difference than 8 months. ‘bunny with tunnel vision’ came with a unique set of challenges, being my first project using drums and more traditional percussive elements. I now see myself as a creative more than an artist, bending genres and art forms. I love playing with mediums.

You’ve mentioned that most tracks on the album are about different people. Can you tell us a bit more about that — who these songs became about, or what drew you to those stories, in the first place?

Yes, there are 17 people referenced in the 13 tracks of this album. I went through a big break-up when I was 22, the only relationship I’ve been in, and my world was rocked. I decided to move to New York to pursue music in a bigger city and live closer to my sister. Since moving to New York, I have met so many incredible friends and have fallen in love with so many of them. The crux of the album is about toiling with self-discovery. We are mirrors, we show each other who we are, who we want to be, who we don’t want to be. This album is a time capsule of those reflections since moving to New York.

And did writing from those different perspectives shape how you approached each track musically — maybe in its tone, arrangement, or emotional color?

Yes! My producers and I approached each song as its own fruit. There is nuance in the ‘meaning’ of each track, and still every song has a different core feeling. After the bones of the song were decided and tracked, we created space to play with the arrangement, tempo, strings, electronic elements, piano, whatever it might have been. For example, we tracked infernal chore, the last song on the album, live, without metronome. Tracking infernal chore this way allowed for the emotion in my live performance of the song to shine through the recorded version. After the main vocals and guitars were recorded, we tracked cello and piano, adding so much dimension to the song.

We’d love to focus on “BIG RED EYES” for our Loop Songs series, if that’s okay. To start with something small but curious — the album title is written in lowercase, while the song title is in uppercase. Was there a specific intention behind that contrast, or was it more of an instinctive choice?

The capitalization of each song is indeed intentional. BIG RED EYES is about the overwhelming feeling of shame and guilt. I like that the title of this song looks jarring, out of place. That’s what shame feels like.

“BIG RED EYES” feels like it sits somewhere between heartbreak and self-realization. Do you remember what moment or feeling first sparked that song?

I remember the night I wrote BIG RED EYES. I was sitting on my bed, day-dreaming about this person I had recently connected with. I wanted her to be my partner, I was antsy and confessional and desperately needed to let it out. Our connection was cosmic, and I struggled to hold my desire without needing more from the situation. Writing the bridge of BIG RED EYES helped me remember that I can’t control my feelings, only observe them. My humanness and vulnerability is not a weakness. Huge yearning song, story of my life.

Lyrically, it walks a fine line between intimacy and distance. Were you writing from a personal space at the time, or did the song start to evolve into something more universal as you lived with it?

BIG RED EYES is deeply personal– I lived through every lyric. Our connection was deeply intimate and simultaneously distanced by the complexity of the situation. We were both still working through heartbreak and big life changes. I knew that a commitment to each other would sabotage each of our own healing.

There’s a line — “I’m so human” — that carries so much quiet tension, like both an admission and a release. What did that phrase mean to you when you wrote it, and has its meaning shifted since?

I love that this line stood out to you. ‘I’m so human’ was a common phrase I’d use in my poetry last year. I have an addiction to perfection, something inside me believes I must be perfect to be loved, as if my desirability could only be proven by being perfect. My worth is not in question. That is the antidote. The reality is, I am human and flawed and worthy of love, all at the same time. ‘I’m so human’ continues to be my reminder that I need not try to be anything else.

You come from a very musical family, and you are an incredible cellist. How does your cello, Daisy, fit into your writing process or emotional world? 

Thank you so much! These days, I mostly write songs on guitar. Cello tends to be secondary, though not always. I recently have been writing and arranging solely using my cello, which has been a fun challenge. I hope to further explore that space with my next project. Since the cello has been a huge part of my identity for so long, I wanted to step away from it as an essential element for this record. Creativity flourishes within limitation. Cello is easy. As soon as I start playing, a new atmosphere is created. It was fun to learn how to sound design without it.

Now that the album is almost out, what do the post-release days look like for you? 

I feel a huge relief now that the album is out. This project has consumed me in every way the past couple years, and now I get to release it into the wild. Post-release days look like reflection, for the time being. Promotion where I can, and hopefully a tour soon. For now, I am easing into the holidays, my birthday, and setting some goals for next year. There are a lot of creative avenues I want to explore, different skills I want to learn, people I want to write with, genres I want to bend. Lots of roads I want to venture down next year, I’m not too sure where the wind will take me yet.

Before we wrap up, I’d love to ask — what’s been on your loop lately?

Lately I have been loving Flyte, Emory, Smerz, and Khruangbin. I mostly listen to classical music, but have been spinning a lot of folk and alt music lately. My top artists that I’m always spinning are D’angelo, Adrianne Lenker, Andy Shauf, Nick Drake, and Labi Siffre.

Thank you so much for taking the time, Torri! Best of luck with bwtv!

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