story / ANNE WALLS
photography / ERIC RAY DAVIDSON
Sondre Lerche is known for being a passionate singer/songwriter/all around hot dude, but who knew heâs also a comedian? Sample Tweet: @SondreLerche: âI just tattooed ‘Yo, banana boy!’ on my chest. Should I not have done that?â
Ladygunn spoke to the Norwegian artist about songwriting, his fantasy vacation, and achieving his childhood dreamsâŠand no, it isnât getting that banana tattoo.
What was the first fantasy you remember having as a child?
SONDRE LERCHE: Hmm. When youâre a kid, fantasy is pretty much all you have. I have to be honest: my fantasy was that Iâd be a songwriter. I really feel sometimes like my wildest imagination has come true because I get to have this crazy life where I follow my passion and travel and share it with the world.
Yeah, youâve definitely accomplished your dream. I read in an interview you did a few years ago that you said youâre ânot much of a collaboratorâ â do you think that has changed?
It has, yeah. Back then, I wasnât much of a collaborator with songwriting. I really enjoy collaborating in the studio and rely on it, but as a songwriter I sort of only rely on myself. But in the last year or so Iâve done a lot of songwriting collaboration. Iâve done a song with a Norwegian hip-hop artist who also happens to be my cousin named Lars Vaular. Heâs the biggest hip-hop artist in Norway and raps in Norwegian. Our song is the first time I sing in Norwegian. Itâs a song we wrote together and it was really fun. Iâm sort of slowly opening up to the idea of other people.
Totally. Speaking of collaboration and fantasy: youâve played with a bunch of idols like [Norweigian supergroup] A-Ha and Elvis Costello. But who â alive or dead – have you not collaborated with yet that youâd love to?
Oh wow, there are so many. Among the not-so-alive, Iâd have to say Charles Mingus or some of the jazz greats. I think maybe it would be even more fun to meet them or just have a conversation. Definitely Cole Porter.
It proves how across the board your music is because when you could choose from literally any musician and you chose jazz artists. Do you feel like stuff youâre writing now is jazz-influenced?
Iâm really interested in how people make music that I donât understand how to make. I hear a lot of music that I really love but I understand what theyâre doing, whatâs behind it. So Iâve been getting into a lot of stuff I have no idea how it came to be. I guess thatâs in keeping with your Fantasy Theme. Some music seems like something you can dream of, but how do people actually create it? The process becomes really exotic. I hear reggaeton tracks from cars passing outside my window and am like, âWhat is this music?â Iâve been trying to approach music differently because of this.
Did you start recording a new record at the end of July? What part of the process are you at now?
I did but itâs still very early. Weâre just messing around and having fun and exploring all the different ways we could go. Iâm very motivated. I want to record all over the place â Brooklyn, Norway, maybe even go somewhere else.
If you went on your fantasy vacation, where would you go?
Iâve never been to India and would love to go there. I want to go somewhere where you feel far away. It would be mind-blowing. [Pauses] I canât leave that as a fantasy for too long.
Lercheâs new live CD/LP, Bootlegs, is out now. Vinyl reissues of his four previous albums are out now. More info here: http://www.sondrelerche.com