Jens Lekman

Jens Lekman
Jens Lekman at Popaganda 2013 in Stockholm, Sweden
Background information
Birth name	Jens Martin Lekman
Born	(1981-02-06) 6 February 1981 Angered, Gothenburg, Sweden
Origin	Gothenburg, Sweden
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar ukulele MPC
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Service Secretly Canadian
Website	jenslekman.com

Jens Martin Lekman (pronounced [jɛns mɑrtɪn lekman])^[1] (born 6 February 1981) is a Swedish musician.^[2] His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings, with lyrics that are often witty, romantic, and melancholic. His work is heavily influenced by that of Jonathan Richman and Belle & Sebastian, and he has been likened to Stephin Merritt (of The Magnetic Fields), David Byrne,^[1] and Scott Walker.^[3]

Early life

Lekman was born February 6, 1981 in Angered, Gothenburg. As a child, he was not particularly interested in music, but the age of fourteen he was asked to play bass in a friend's cover band. This sparked his own song writing and he quickly came to write hundreds of songs.

Gradually, he adopted the pseudonym Rocky Dennis, a name he borrowed from the protagonist in the movie Mask. Under this name, he began releasing limited edition CD-R discs, the first of which was 2001's The Budgie. The following year, he sent a collection of their songs to the American record label Secretly Canadian, who contracted him.

Music career

From 2000 to 2003, Lekman recorded and released much of his material privately on CD-R. Because one of his songs during this time was entitled "Rocky Dennis' Farewell Song to the Blind Girl", inspired by the movie Mask,^[4] Lekman was mistakenly referred to as "Rocky Dennis". Lekman says that it was a "mistake": "someone thought that was my real name cause I had a song about him, and then radio picked up on it, and I never had a chance to change it".^[4] He put the confusion to rest with his Rocky Dennis in Heaven EP (2004).

In 2003, Lekman self-released a 7" vinyl EP, Maple Leaves. When the same EP was released on CD by the Swedish independent label Service Records later that year, he was a well-known name. The songs "Maple Leaves" and "Black Cab" were heavily played on Swedish national radio. He soon signed a contract with the American label Secretly Canadian for releases outside of Sweden. Heavy touring and his debut album soon followed.

His first album When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog was released in 2004, and consisted of recordings made between 2000 and 2004 (some tracks had been previously released independently by Lekman). The album attracted attention among the alternative music press in both Europe and the U.S. The song "You Are the Light" was a successful radio hit, and a video received some rotation in the Nordic MTV and ZTV. In Sweden, the album reached No. 6 on the national chart. Lekman was nominated for three Swedish Grammies, three P3 Guld and three Manifest awards, and the album was named the album of the year by Nöjesguiden.

A concert film shot from Lekman's sold-out show with José González at Göteborg's concert hall in December 2003 was broadcast by Swedish national television in 2005. In June 2005, a compilation CD of Lekman's first three EPs (plus extra tracks) was released as Oh You're So Silent Jens. Lekman's cover of Scout Niblett's "Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death" appeared on Secretly Canadian's SC100 compilation. Night Falls Over Kortedala was released in Sweden on 5 September 2007 and worldwide on 9 October 2007. The single "Friday Night at the Drive-in Bingo" preceded the album's release.

Live performances by Lekman have differed in style; at times he has performed alone with only a guitar and a CD player, sometimes doing a cappella versions of his songs, while at other times he has been accompanied by a choir and string quartet. In 2008, he toured with an all-female back-up band (dressed mostly in white) that provided basic rock instrumentation as well as horns and backing vocals. In December 2008 Jens played a short China tour organised by Split Works.^[5] In 2010, Lekman released a free song entitled "The End of the World is Bigger Than Love" online. This was his first release in three years.

On 19 March 2011, Lekman played a show in support of libraries during the widespread closures in the United Kingdom where he premiered a new song, "Every Little Hair Knows Your Name".^[6]

Lekman's An Argument With Myself EP was released in September 2011 to generally favorable reviews. This was followed up by I Know What Love Isn't in September 2012, Lekman's first full-length album since 2007, also receiving favorable reviews.

On 2 September 2014, Lekman released a 33-minute-long mixtape titled WWJD, which included three unreleased songs: "WWJD", "I Remember", and "What's That Perfume That You Wear?"^[7] The mixtape has been described as being "one cohesive experience as intimate as writing a postcard, as pleasant as receiving one."^[8]

Discography

Albums

Compilations

• Oh You're So Silent Jens (Service Records, 8 June 2005; Secretly Canadian, 22 November 2005) – a collection of previously released singles, EPs, and compilation appearances

EPs

• The Insect EP (self-released, 2000) – 20 copies
• 7" Vinyl EP (self-released, 2003) – 250 copies
• Maple Leaves (Service Records, 1 October 2003; Secretly Canadian, 3 February 2004)
• Rocky Dennis (Service Records, 21 January 2004; Secretly Canadian, 6 April 2004)
• I Killed a Party Again (self-released, 29 May 2004) – 100 copies
• Julie (Service Records, 28 July 2004) – 2000 copies
• You Are the Light (Secretly Canadian, 17 August 2004)
• The Opposite of Hallelujah (Thievery; Evil Evil, January 2005)
• Live at Stora Teatern (Secretly Canadian, 15 February 2005)
• You Deserve Someone Better Than a Bum Like Me (self-released, May 2005)
• USA October 2005 (self-released, October 2005)
• Kalendervägen 113.D (Service Records, 2007) Bonus EP included with initial copies of "Night Falls Over Kortedala"
• An Argument With Myself EP (Secretly Canadian, September 2011)

Singles

• Jens Lekman/José González (Service Records, January 2004) – 300 copies, contains "If You Ever Need A Stranger (To Sing at Your Wedding)"
• El Perro del Mar/Jens Lekman (Secretly Canadian,30 October 2004) – contains " I Don't Know If She's Worth 900 Kronor"
• Jens Lekman/Blood Music (Insound, November 2006) – contains "A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill", with spoken word introduction
• "Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo" / "Radio NRJ" (Service Records, 14 July 2007) – 800 copies
• The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love (self-released, 2010)

Collaborations

• Kajak – Benni Hemm Hemm (2007) – guest vocals on "Aldrei"
• Något dåligt nytt har hänt – Vapnet (2007) – guest vocals on "Håll ihop"
• Kingdom Came – Kocky (2007) – guest vocals on "Be Part of It All"
• Yeah! Oh Yeah! – Duet with Tracey Thorn
• Inside (The Corrections) – Duet with New Buffalo
• Here Comes the Rain EP (2006) The Ladybug Transistor – Backing Vocals on "Here Comes the Rain"
• Clocks/Pretender (2007) – Duet with Montt Mardie on "Castle in The Sky"
• Mena (2010) – Javiera Mena – guest vocals on "Sufrir"
• Breakfast in America – Viktor Sjöberg (2010) – guest vocals on "A Million Bucks"

Compilation appearances

• En Garde Fanzine CD-R (2003) – contains "F-Word" and "Sky Phenomenon"
• Based on a True Story (2004) – contains "Be Good"
• Accelerator Compilation (July 2004) – contains "The Wrong Hands"
• Risky Dazzle: A Service Party Shuffle (January 2005) – contains "Maple Leaves", "And I Remember Every Kiss (Demo Version)" (previously unreleased), and "You Are the Light (Reprise)
• Rallye Cloak 02: Swim Sweet Swedish (24 August 2005) – contains "Boisa-Bis-O-Boisa"
• SC100 (24 April 2007) – contains a cover of Scout Niblett's songs "Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death" and "Shining/Burning"
• Four Songs by Arthur Russell (20 August 2007) – contains "A Little Lost"
• Whip It! (29 September 2009) – contains "Your Arms Around Me"
• Det ordnar sig (February 2014) – contains a cover of Peter Lunblad's "Ta Mig Till Havet"

References

External links

• Official site