I sat down with Sondre Lerche before his World Cafe Live performance on 6/3. Check out what he had to say about returning to performing with a band, his latest self-titled album and living in Brooklyn. (Check back for my live review and photos!)
The last time I saw you with a band was about 7 years ago, the Faces Down Quartet, and every time since has been a solo act. What was it like for you preparing for this tour with an alternate backing band?
SL: I feel like I’ve been preparing for it ever since I stopped playing with the old band. Just the thought of playing with people just took me a long time to even [adjust to]. I feel it takes a long [time] to really get to that point where you’re free and fluent with the songs and with each other as a band in the same way that I am when I play solo. It just felt right with this record because I had met a lot of new people in New York that helped me record the record. I’m really picky when it comes to drummers (drummer David Heilman laughs nearby). I didn’t know even how to go about finding a drummer and then I met Dave. He did amazing work on the record and we just hit it off. So I knew that when I had a good drummer I was like, “Well, then you can do anything.”
DH: You always know when the drummer’s bad. You don’t know when he’s good, but you know when he’s bad.
SL: That’s the thing, the drummer is sort of the glue, and especially for the way I play. If I have a drummer who really gets the intention and the vibe of the songs and really understands the structure of things, I feel that’s half the challenge.
As your 6th album release, not including the Dan In Real Life soundtrack, what made you decide to finally make one self-titled? I thought your Twitter responses a while back were overwhelmingly clever.
SL: (laughter) They were overwhelmingly clever, so much so that I didn’t actually use any of them (more laughter). Some of them were very funny, and some of them were actually quite good, but in the end I didn’t really find anything from the Twitter suggestions - or from my own suggestions. I didn’t find anything I truly liked. Then I started really obsessing over finding the title. I think I had it in a dream, but I lost it when I woke up. So I just gave up and thought, “Oh well.” My friend had said, “You know, this is the kind of record that would actually make sense to just have be self-titled.” I had thought of it, but I always thought, “Well you know, self-titled, that seems like an easy way out - or something Celine Dion would do.” But then I realized that there are lots of albums I like that are self-titled. In a way it feels like the beginning of a new cycle. So I thought, “Well, what the heck.”
I read that this album was co-produced by your longtime producer Kato Adland, as well as Nicolas Vernhes, who’s studio, Rare Book Room, has housed the likes of Spoon, Animal Collective, and Deerhunter. What was this process like for you? And how was it different than your previous releases?
SL: Well, I really wanted to make a record in New York, and ideally in my neighborhood. There are so many great studios and a lot of the musicians I know are in that area. I wanted to work with new people, find a new studio that I felt an attachment to and where I felt at home. A lot of American studios are really professional and really sort of [feel] like dentist offices. I wanted to find something that felt a bit more chilled out, but still [had] good equipment and expertise. So I looked, and I found Rare Book Room – and Nicolas. He’s been involved in a lot of records that I really, really like. I thought he could be a good accomplice. And Kato, he’s my main man. He’s been my guitar player for years, in The Faces Down [Quartet], and he has been an invaluable player in many ways to all of the records. And of course, he produced Heartbeat Radio. So, I wanted to continue working with him. I just found that it wasn’t fun without him. But he and Nicolas had never met until the first day we recorded. It was sort of a gamble to see if these two guys would actually hit it off. It really clicked. It was super.
This is the first release from Mona Records, which you recently created in Brooklyn with your wife, Mona, correct?
SL: Yeah, I just took the name from her.
What made you decide to go this route, versus releasing through a more established record company?
SL: I’m just thankful to have my audience. I have people [here] who are interested in what I do. It just felt like a much better way to sort of keep control of the record. The way things are in the industry, it’s really uncertain, and the big companies are crumbling. I didn’t want to get involved with that world. Quite frankly, I’m not a pop artist, you know? I’m something else. I’m not sure what I am, but I don’t belong in that sort of mainstream context. It just made a lot more sense when we looked at what we could do. I have a really good team around me who help me. I couldn’t do it without them. We just [said], “Let’s do it. Let’s put it out ourselves. We got some really good helpers.” It feels good to take charge. It’s what I do. It’s my career. It’s my life, and it’s really personal. It feels easier to convey that when you put it out yourself.
I read in on online interview that you wanted to move to Brooklyn to be a "small fish in a big pond," which is opposite of your hometown in Norway. How has this influenced your creative process?
SL: I liked the challenge of [it]. There’s just something about [getting] really comfortable somewhere, and getting out of that. Just to challenge yourself artistically, [and to] keep on moving. I was really young. I was really worried that I’d be too comfortable, and have too much too soon... So, I just got out of town. I feel it’s definitely given me some muscles, in a way. New York is a much rougher town than any city in Norway. [You’re] really face to face with reality. I like it. It’s good growing up. I think it’s good to challenge yourself, and live other places if you have the opportunity. I’m very lucky to have the opportunity to go a lot of places and live a lot of places, so I took it.
Lastly, as my blog suggests a mostly vegan diet, could you see yourself as a vegan or vegetarian?
SL: Well, Dave is a vegetarian and my merch girl is a vegan. So I tag along with them sometimes when they go to eat. So, maybe I could. I do like certain dishes. [I could] for a period of time. I like certain meat dishes, but moderately. I don’t have to have meat with everything.
So bottom line, you could for a period of time?
SL: I’d do it for you!
