Sondre Lerche with Sylvie Lewis November 25, 2008

Born and raised in Bergen, a small West Coast Norwegian city, Sondre fell under the spell of the records his older brother and two sisters played - Norwegian pop sensations A-Ha, the Beach Boys, Elvis Costello and Prefab Sprout all made an indelible mark on Lerches musical consciousness. Learning those harmonies and chord voicings, blending Brazilian folk and cool jazz, really opened my eyes. In fact, so much that Brazilian pop influences the music Lerche writes to this day.
Lerche recorded Faces Down, in 2000, but its release was held up to allow the singer to finish high school. The album was praised for its inventive arrangements, Lerches smooth vocals and first rate songwriting, a collection that harked back to the classic pop sounds of The Beatles, Burt Bacharach/Hal David, 60s bossa nova and classic American saloon songs. Faces Down won Best New Artist at the Norwegian Grammys (Spellemannprisen) in 2002 and was listed among Rolling Stones top 50 albums of 2002. Two Way Monologue, another collection of tidy, well-crafted pop followed in 2004. Lerches vocals were more confident, swooping from a mellow tenor to playful falsetto ornamentations, with songs marked by lush melodies and expansive pop arrangements. 2006s Duper Sessions was more acoustic and band focused than its predecessors, but Lerches attention to craft remained intact and the album charted in the Billboard Jazz Contemporary Top 5.
Lerche has toured extensively throughout the US and Europe the last couple of years and he is currently gearing up with the Faces Down to bring the live power of Phantom Punch to a venue near you. As the album ably demonstrates, Lerche will follow his muse wherever it takes him. Id like every album, every song, to be as much of a contrast to the next one as possible, whether its tempo, mood, instrumentation or energy, he says.
Phantom Punch fulfills that promise, another step in what promises to be a long and rewarding career for both the artist and music lovers the world over.

Event submitted by Eventful.com on behalf of worldcafelive2.