Sondre Lerche

Sondre Lerche

Sondre Lerche Vaular is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Bergen, Norway. Born in 1982, he begins his professional career in 2000 and becomes known for music that shifts markedly from one album to the next, drawing on indie rock, pop and a wide range of other styles. He releases music on his own label, Sondre Lerche Music.

Early life and first recordings

Lerche grows up in Bergen, Hordaland, and is influenced by the music he hears from his older siblings, especially 1980s acts such as a-ha, The Beach Boys and Prefab Sprout. He starts formal guitar lessons at eight, but also writes original material on his own, including his first song, “Locust Girl”, at fourteen. While still underage, he performs acoustic sets at the club where his sister works. He is later discovered by producer Hans-Petter “HP” Gundersen, whose mentorship exposes him to psychedelia, 1960s pop and Brazilian music. He is also introduced to Oslo manager Tatiana Penzo, which leads to a recording contract with Virgin Norway.

Breakthrough in Norway and abroad

His debut album, Faces Down, is recorded in 2000 and released in Norway in 2001 after being delayed while he completes academic requirements. Before the album appears, he is named Best New Act at Spellemannprisen and supports acts including Beth Orton. The album becomes a chart success in Norway and is later released internationally in 2002, receiving strong critical attention; Rolling Stone places it among its top 50 albums of that year. Lerche then tours in Europe and the United States and gains wider recognition as one of Norway’s better-known international artists.

Albums, collaborations and film work

In 2003, Lerche releases the studio/live compilation EP Don’t Be Shallow and tours with Elvis Costello, a musician he had also toured with again in 2005. His second studio album, Two Way Monologue, follows in 2004 and continues his varied approach, moving between upbeat pop songs and more subdued, melancholic material.

Duper Sessions appears in 2006. It is a classical jazz album of original songs and a version of the jazz standard “Night and Day”, recorded with the Faces Down and pianist Erik Halvorsen at Duper Studios in Bergen. In 2007, he releases Phantom Punch, a more aggressive rock album recorded and mixed in Los Angeles with producer Tony Hoffer.

Also in 2007, Lerche composes the score for Dan in Real Life and appears in the film with the Faces Down performing “Modern Nature”; the vocals heard in the film are by Lillian Samdal. Another Lerche song, “Dear Laughing Doubters”, is used in Dinner for Schmucks. Both films star Steve Carell.

Later releases

Lerche releases Heartbeat Radio in 2009 and his self-titled sixth studio album, Sondre Lerche, in 2011.

Band

Much of Lerche’s early success is closely associated with his band the Faces Down, which records and performs with him on several releases. The group also includes pianist Erik Halvorsen on Duper Sessions.