Sondre Lerche
I Shouldn't Have To Spell My Name

When writing the songs that became "Two Way Monologue", I wanted to play around both at home on my own, and in the rehearsal space with my backing band at the time. Some solo demos became the core of the album recording, and some recordings from the rehearsal room became templates for the actual, proper recordings that ended up on the album. However, some of these early band demos achieved a sense of groove and effortlessness that proved hard to improve or replicate in the studio, and it always bothered me that these unmixed, unedited versions, with almost no overdubs, and little finesse, would remain unheard.

And so while I was sifting through my vault, working on the 20th anniversary reissue of TWM, I stumbled upon some of these demos, and decided to share my five favorites. Two of them are songs that never even made it on the album, the other three are early takes of key tracks such as the title track and "It’s Too Late", that have a sense of flair and unawareness that to my ear in many ways rivals the final versions. Have a listen and hear for yourself. While not flawless or even finished, these versions are direct time capsules into the spirit with which I approached the "Two Way Monologue" album.