Jens Martin Lekman (;
born 6 February 1981) 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. His work is heavily influenced by
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic an ...
and
Belle & Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released twelve studio albums. They are often compared with acts such as the Smiths and Nick Drake. The band took their name from ...
, and he has been likened to
Stephin Merritt
Stephin Merritt (born February 9, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the songwriter and principal singer of the bands the Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. He is known for ...
(of
The Magnetic Fields
The Magnetic Fields are an American Band (rock and pop), band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as frequent multi-instrumentalist. The band is named after the André B ...
),
David Byrne
David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads.
Byrne has ...
,
[ and Scott Walker.
]
Early life
Lekman was born 6 February 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 songwriting 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
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...
''. Under this name, he began releasing limited edition CD-R discs, the first of which was 2001's ''The Budgie''. In the early 2000s, he sent a collection of the songs to the American record label Secretly Canadian
Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, part of the Secretly Group. The Secretly Group includes record labels Dead Oceans and Jagjaguwar as well as a music publisher known as Secretly Publis ...
, who contracted him.
Music career
From 2000 to 2003, Lekman recorded and released much of his material privately on CD-R
CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital media, digital optical disc data storage device, storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can only be Write once read many, written once and read arbitrarily many times.
CD-R discs (CD-Rs) ...
. Because one of his songs during this time was titled "Rocky Dennis' Farewell Song to the Blind Girl", inspired by the movie ''Mask
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...
'', 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". 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 and the former garnered significant attention through file-sharing platforms. His work has proven to be considerably more successful in Sweden than America. He soon signed a contract with the American label Secretly Canadian
Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, part of the Secretly Group. The Secretly Group includes record labels Dead Oceans and Jagjaguwar as well as a music publisher known as Secretly Publis ...
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
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
and ZTV. In Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, 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 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
Emma Louise Niblett (born 29 September 1973), better known by the stage name Scout Niblett, is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Niblett debuted in 2001 with her first full-length studio album ''Sweet Heart Fever'', and h ...
'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
Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
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
Split Works is a China-based music company founded in 2006 by Archie Hamilton and Nathaniel Davis. It is a subsidiary of Split United, one of China's most influential music industry organizations, with offices in both Shanghai and Beijing. Split ...
. 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 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?" The mixtape has been described as being "one cohesive experience as intimate as writing a postcard, as pleasant as receiving one."
All through 2015, Jens Lekman released a new song every week on his website for free. They are all titled ''Postcard'' with the number of the week, making 52 tracks in total. In parallel, he led a musical experiment called ''Ghostwriting'' where he translates into songs stories submitted to him by the public. The first installment was held in Stockholm and yield 5 tracks in Swedish. The second installment was held in Cincinnati and 11 English tracks came out of it. They bring the total of his 2015 output to 68 tracks and they can all be downloaded on his website.
Lekman's 4th proper LP, '' Life Will See You Now'', was released on 17 February 2017, on the Secretly Canadian label.
On 21 March 2022, Lekman's most popular and successful album, ''Night Falls Over Kortedala'', was removed from all streaming services and made unavailable to purchase. This move was met with shock by fans, with whom the album is very popular. Lekman cited legal issues as the main reason due to sampling issues.
On 27 April 2022, Lekman announced the reissue of two of his albums that had previously been made unavailable: ''Oh You're So Silent Jens'' and ''Night Falls Over Kortedala''. They were reissued respectively as ''The Cherry Trees Are Still in Blossom'' and ''The Linden Trees Are Still in Blossom''. The reissued versions of the albums are composed of re-recordings of all the original tracks, as well as entirely new tracks. ''The Cherry Trees Are Still in Blossom'' was released digitally on 27 April 2022, whereas ''The Linden Trees Are Still in Blossom'' was digitally released on 4 May 2022. Both albums were released physically on 3 June 2022 via record label Secretly Canadian.
Artistry
Stephen Metcalf noted that Lekman differs from his influences, among them Morrissey and Stephin Merritt
Stephin Merritt (born February 9, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the songwriter and principal singer of the bands the Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. He is known for ...
, by fashioning a coyness in his songs about sex – a demeanor that is euphemistic or "even aseptically unsexual" – although he similarly writes of passion and longing. He has often made use of samples, comparable to that of the Avalanches
The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in Melbourne in 1997. They have released three studio albums, ''Since I Left You'' (2000), ''Wildflower (The Avalanches album), Wildflower'' (2016), and ''We Will Always Love You'' ...
, who he admits to have "rip edoff".
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)
*''WWJD'' (2014)
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
El Perro del Mar (literally "The Dog of the Sea" in Spanish) is a musical project that was founded in December 2003 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The sole member of El Perro del Mar, Sarah Assbring (born 1977), initially started as an MP3/CD-R artist an ...
/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)
*The Postcards series was released digitally throughout 2015: one song each week. Of the 52, #17 was released on ''Life Will See You Now''.
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!'' (2009) – Duet with Tracey Thorn
Tracey Thorn (born 26 September 1962) is an English singer, songwriter, and author. She is best known as a member of the duo Everything but the Girl, active from 1982 to 2000, and again from 2022. She was in the band Marine Girls from 1980 to ...
for "SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers!"
* ''Inside (The Corrections)'' – Duet with New Buffalo
* ''Here Comes the Rain EP'' (2006) The Ladybug Transistor
The Ladybug Transistor is a Brooklyn-based indie pop group associated with The Elephant Six Collective.
History
Started in 1995 by Gary Olson (Ladybug Transistor), Gary Olson, Edward Powers and Javier Villegas, The Ladybug Transistor released ...
– Backing Vocals on "Here Comes the Rain"
* '' Clocks/Pretender'' (2007) – Duet with Montt Mardie on "Castle in The Sky"
* ''Mena
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also called West Asia) and North Africa together ...
'' (2010) – Javiera Mena
Javiera Alejandra Mena Carrasco (born June 3, 1983) is a Chilean singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer based in Madrid, Spain. She started her musical career in the Chilean indie music scene in 2001 and achieved wider success after t ...
– guest vocals on "Sufrir"
* ''Breakfast in America'' – Viktor Sjöberg (2010) – guest vocals on "A Million Bucks"
* ''CORRESPONDENCE'' (2019) – Collaboration with Annika Norlin
Annika Norlin (born 22 November 1977 is a Swedish musician, journalist and author who makes music under the names Hello Saferide (in English) and Säkert! (in Swedish).Four Songs by Arthur Russell
''Four Songs by Arthur Russell'' is a tribute EP of songs written by Arthur Russell, featuring Vera November, Jens Lekman, Taken By Trees, and Joel Gibb.
Track listing
#"Our Last Night Together" (Vera November)
#"A Little Lost" (Jens Lekman ...
'' (20 August 2007) – contains "A Little Lost"
* ''Whip It!
''Whip It'' is a 2009 American Sports film, sports comedy drama film co-produced and directed by Drew Barrymore from a screenplay by Shauna Cross, based on her 2007 novel ''Derby Girl''. It stars Elliot Page as a teenage girl from the fictional t ...
'' (29 September 2009) – contains "Your Arms Around Me"
* ''Det ordnar sig'' (February 2014) – contains a cover of Peter Lunblad's "Ta Mig Till Havet"
Notes
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lekman, Jens
1981 births
Living people
Swedish multi-instrumentalists
Swedish indie pop musicians
Swedish pop singers
Musicians from Gothenburg
English-language singers from Sweden
21st-century Swedish singer-songwriters
Secretly Canadian artists
Sonic Unyon artists