Sep/3/07
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Monday Exposure: Jens Lekman

Jens Lekman – La Strada Nel Bosco (mp3)
Jens Lekman – Tammy (mp3)
Jens Lekman – Run Away With Me (mp3) via jenslekman.com

The other day Jeff asked me about the Swedish uke scene and, after a brief period wondering if IKEA made ukuleles, I decided I had to feature Jens Lekman today.

The ukulele is big enough in Sweden to have a it’s own festival – which saw appearances by Lekman and James Hill – but photo: elchicodelalecheJens Lekman is Sweden’s biggest uke star by some distance. He has released two albums (When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog and Oh You’re So Silent Jens) which have launched him to indie darlingness. But it’s his E.P.s that are the real treat for uke fans. They are far more uke heavy than the albums and, better still, you can download a number of tracks for free from his website.

His latest album, Night Falls Over Kortedala, has already been released in Sweden. But those of us elsewhere on the globe will have to content ourselves with the jaunty lead-off single Friday Night at the Drive In Bingo (possibly inspired by his two day spell as a bingo caller after he ‘retired’ from making music) until the album gets a global release in early October.

I’m working on a couple of Swedish folk tunes for the uke so stay tuned if that’s your bag.

Download even more tracks from Secretly Canadian

Pre-order Night Falls Over Kortedala US UK

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8 Comments

  1. pam September 4th, 2007 9:35 pm

    I like the idea of an Ikea uke that you bring home in a flat pack and put together yourself with one of those little allen wrenches…

  2. Thomas September 4th, 2007 10:01 pm

    Thank you so much for featuring Jens Lekman. I love his music.
    Especially “Black Cab” which is my big favorite :)

  3. Woodshed September 4th, 2007 11:15 pm

    Pam: I like the idea of an Ikea uke but in reality I know I’d make a mess of it. I can’t even get a cork out of a wine bottle with any degree of certainty so I hate to think what I’d do with something as dangerous and complicated as an allen wrench.

    Thomas: You’re welcome :D

  4. Patcg September 5th, 2007 2:33 am

    Woodshed= aww c’mon, you know ikea will make it easy to make.

    I didn’t notice the popularity of the uke in Sweden like I did in Germany. I saw at least 4 in one day in Berlin.

  5. Woodshed September 5th, 2007 8:18 am

    If Ikea built a uke, I’d be first in the queue – I just doubt my practical abilities. Is that four ukes or four people playing ukes? I don’t think I’ve ever seen four uke players in one day.

    I just checked Google Trends and it looks like the uke is massively popular in Sweden. Who’da thunk it?

  6. ukulele-coolia September 5th, 2007 3:31 pm

    Oh yes, Jens Lekman is great. Thanks for featuring him :)

  7. Patch September 7th, 2007 3:57 am

    Yea it was four different uke players all on the street. I was mostly in the south during my year there, so perhaps it has more popularity in the north, which is great news because that’s where I’ll be in the not-too distant future. :D

  8. Woodshed September 7th, 2007 5:34 pm

    Have a great time, Patch.

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