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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