Sondre Lerche

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Sondre Lerche

Origin	Bergen
Country	Norway
Years active	2001—
Genres	Folk, Pop, Lounge Rock

Sondre Lerche (Sän-drə Lâr-Kĕ) (born September 5, 1982, in Bergen, Norway) is a Norwegian singer, guitarist and songwriter who plays music in a folk/pop style.

Sondre Lerche was weaned on the 80's pop that emanated from his older siblings' rooms. Compelled by a defining fascination for bands such as A-ha, the Beach Boys, and Prefab Sprout, Lerche began formal guitar instruction at age eight. Not satisfied with the lessons at school, Lerche experimented with original tunes on his own, eventually penning his first song, “Locust Girl" at fourteen. Lerche performed acoustic gigs at the club where his sister worked while he was still under age, and was ‘discovered' by Norwegian producer H.P. Gundersen. Under Gundersen's mentorship, Lerche was exposed to diverse music genres, including psychedelia, 60's pop, and mainstream Brazilian music, broadening his appreciation for eclectic music styles. Around this time Lerche also met up with Oslo-based manager Tatiana Penzo, leading up to a deal with Virgin Norway. His popularity in his home country increased steadily, and in 2000 he recorded his debut album, Faces Down.

Faces Down was a hit in Norway and received critical praise in Europe and The United States — Rolling Stone Magazine placed it in their top 50 albums of 2002. He toured in America and Europe. The songs from Faces Down had been completed before winter 2000 but postponed for release until Lerche fulfilled several academic requirements. In the interim, he was named Best New Act at the Norwegian Grammys (Spellemannprisen) and performed locally in support of major acts such as Beth Orton. Faces Down was officially released in Norway in September 2001 and gradually throughout all of Europe. Lerche toured with various acts, including a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share the stage with his long-time idols, A-ha, in Oslo. Autumn 2002 saw the release of Faces Down in America and Lerche's first major tour of the United States. He released the live/studio collection Don't Be Shallow EP the following year.

In 2004 his second album was released, Two Way Monologue, also produced by Gundersen. Rolling Stone gave it a good review, yet had the following comment about the lyrics:

His weakness is his words. Lerche clearly puts effort into his poetry, but the results are often vague, and at worst they suggest a nonsensical translation of what might have been eloquent in the singer's native tongue.^[1]

The album displayed more of Lerche's ability to span many different styles—from pop-like and upbeat tracks to more mellow (or melodic) tunes.

In July 2005, Lerche married his girlfriend, Norwegian model and actress Mona Fastvold.

On December 23rd, 2005, it was announced that Lerche would release two albums in 2006. The first, Duper Sessions, is a jazz album recorded in the fall of 2005 with his band the Faces Down Quartet and pianist Erik Halvorsen at Duper Studios in Bergen. It was released on February 27, 2006. The second album, which has now been pushed back to a January 2007 release, is entitled Phantom Punch; a primitive rock album with a more aggressive sound than his previous work. Lerche and the Faces Down recorded and mixed the album in Los Angeles in April and May of 2006, with producer Tony Hoffer.