2.28.2006

I shouldn't have to spell my name.

For you kids in the know, there are a few quick samples of Sondre Lerche's new 'minimalist' album, 'Duper Sessions,' now available on his website. For you kids not in the know, first check out the video from his last big single, 'Two Way Monologue' (WMV, hi, med, or iFilm). It's like Sinatra + Rufus Wainwright + a Norwegian twenty-something + Jazz-pop. But better. This album's aim is to be slightly less 'arranged' than his last two efforts, which typically was a strong point of Lerche's music.

Most of the songs on “Duper Sessions” were recorded live, with minimal overdubbing. "The idea was to keep the sessions naturalistic and to give the impression of the flow we have in concert," says Lerche. "Usually I work a lot with the production, but this time I just wanted to capture the raw, unpolished sound of the five of us playing some swingin' songs together".

The band recorded a couple of songs a day, a pace much quicker than his previous outings. The impetus for the shift? "I'd look at jazz records from the '50s, like a Chet Baker album," he says. "The liner notes said that he recorded all 10 songs in two days. That inspired me to do something similar. I've been playing with the same band for five years, and the members are all really skilled and versatile. We communicate instinctively."

When a modern musician name drops Chet Baker, you know it's going to be good. Now let's just hope that the hipsters don't find out about him and that he ends up becoming a one-hit wonder on the sountrack to 'The O.C.'

posted by brian at 3:24 PM | Permalink

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