Jens Lekman

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Biography

Jens Martin Lekman (pronounced Yens; born 6 February 1981 in Angered , Sweden ) is a Swedish musician. His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings, with lyrics that are often witty, romantic, and melancholic. The English lyrics reflect an advanced knowledge of the language and its idioms. 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 (musician)|David Byrne , and Scott Walker (singer)|Scott Walker .

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 (film)|Mask , Lekman was mistakenly referred to as " Roy L. Dennis|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". He put the confusion to rest with his Rocky Dennis in Heaven EP (2004).

In 2003, Lekman self-released a 7" vinyl Extended play|EP , Maple Leaves (Jens Lekman)|Maple Leaves . When the same EP was released on compact disc|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 #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 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".

Lekman's An Argument With Myself EP was released in September of 2011 to generally favorable reviews.

Discography

Albums

When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog (Service Records, 7 April 2004; Secretly Canadian, 7 September 2004)

Night Falls Over Kortedala (Service Records, 5 September 2007; Secretly Canadian, 9 October 2007) U.S. #192, Allmusic

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 (EP)|Maple Leaves (Service Records, 1 October 2003; Secretly Canadian, 3 February 2004)

Rocky Dennis (EP)|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 (EP)|Julie (Service Records, 28 July 2004) - 2000 copies

You Are the Light (Secretly Canadian, 17 August 2004)

The Opposite of Hallelujah EP|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& #33; 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 (album)|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"

Copyright Citations

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1. Louis T. Hardin 2. Jonathan Richman 3. José González 4. Julie 5. Ladybug Transistor 6. Marit Bergman 7. Streetcar 8. Tracey Thorn

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