For Brianna
Pitchfork interview with Jens Lekman. And this, for the uninitiated.
[Incidentally, the photo used in the interview is the same one on Last.fm that I've been staring at for the past night. My profile is here, by the way, just in case you want to add me or look at my crazy listening habits.]
It's a strange time in Jens Lekman's life. The 26-year-old Swedish singer and songwriter last month released his superb new album, Night Falls Over Kortedala, in Sweden, and it arrives tomorrow in America on Secretly Canadian. He's also bidding farewell to his dwelling place in the suburban area of Gothenburg, Sweden, that gave Kortedala its name, becoming homeless on tour, and planning a move to Australia.
[...]
Pitchfork: That sounds like the kind of conversations we might have here, too. Wait, so you're moving from your apartment? Have you moved already?
Jens Lekman: I'm sitting in my apartment now, but it's almost empty. I'm just going here for the few days that I'm home, and I'll be cleaning it out probably just before the U.S. tour. And then I'll be homeless, and I'm looking forward to that. No electricity bills.
Yeah, and then Australia. Melbourne, that's where I'm moving. I filled out the working holiday visa application. It's just so simple. You answer like five questions, and then it's like, "Do you have any serious diseases? Were you in the Nuremberg trials? No, no, congratulations! And here's your visa, come here and stay for as long as you want." Or no, up until a year actually, but it's great. So much easier than your country.
Pitchfork: Do you have a lot of friends in Australia? I guess Guy Blackman?
Jens Lekman: Yeah, he lives in Melbourne. I have quite a lot of friends there, more friends than I have in Gothenburg. That's the main reason, I guess. I'm not too fond of the typical Australian activities or culture. I'm not into surfing, that's what I'm trying to say.
Pitchfork: And the Lucksmiths are down there, too. They're a wonderful band who also love Jonathan Richman.
Jens Lekman: Really sweet people, I really like them. And Architecture in Helsinki? No, Architecture just moved to New York, I think.
[...]
Pitchfork: Well, congratulations! Thanks for the album. Oh, and there's one annoying question I should ask before I let you go, because so many of your songs are about romance, and we mentioned this in the Oh You're So Silent review. Do you have a girlfriend?
Jens Lekman: No, I don't have a girlfriend. No, I don't. I haven't had a relationship in years, actually. But yeah, I'm still looking. It's kind of nice to be looking for a home at the same time. And I really think I need to find a home. I don't know if that includes a girlfriend or not, but first I need to find a home, definitely. Because I felt pretty homeless in the last couple of years, and I never felt at home here in Kortedala. So it's time to find someplace where I feel like it's home.
So now you know what you have to do, Brianna.
[Incidentally, the photo used in the interview is the same one on Last.fm that I've been staring at for the past night. My profile is here, by the way, just in case you want to add me or look at my crazy listening habits.]
It's a strange time in Jens Lekman's life. The 26-year-old Swedish singer and songwriter last month released his superb new album, Night Falls Over Kortedala, in Sweden, and it arrives tomorrow in America on Secretly Canadian. He's also bidding farewell to his dwelling place in the suburban area of Gothenburg, Sweden, that gave Kortedala its name, becoming homeless on tour, and planning a move to Australia.
[...]
Pitchfork: That sounds like the kind of conversations we might have here, too. Wait, so you're moving from your apartment? Have you moved already?
Jens Lekman: I'm sitting in my apartment now, but it's almost empty. I'm just going here for the few days that I'm home, and I'll be cleaning it out probably just before the U.S. tour. And then I'll be homeless, and I'm looking forward to that. No electricity bills.
Yeah, and then Australia. Melbourne, that's where I'm moving. I filled out the working holiday visa application. It's just so simple. You answer like five questions, and then it's like, "Do you have any serious diseases? Were you in the Nuremberg trials? No, no, congratulations! And here's your visa, come here and stay for as long as you want." Or no, up until a year actually, but it's great. So much easier than your country.
Pitchfork: Do you have a lot of friends in Australia? I guess Guy Blackman?
Jens Lekman: Yeah, he lives in Melbourne. I have quite a lot of friends there, more friends than I have in Gothenburg. That's the main reason, I guess. I'm not too fond of the typical Australian activities or culture. I'm not into surfing, that's what I'm trying to say.
Pitchfork: And the Lucksmiths are down there, too. They're a wonderful band who also love Jonathan Richman.
Jens Lekman: Really sweet people, I really like them. And Architecture in Helsinki? No, Architecture just moved to New York, I think.
[...]
Pitchfork: Well, congratulations! Thanks for the album. Oh, and there's one annoying question I should ask before I let you go, because so many of your songs are about romance, and we mentioned this in the Oh You're So Silent review. Do you have a girlfriend?
Jens Lekman: No, I don't have a girlfriend. No, I don't. I haven't had a relationship in years, actually. But yeah, I'm still looking. It's kind of nice to be looking for a home at the same time. And I really think I need to find a home. I don't know if that includes a girlfriend or not, but first I need to find a home, definitely. Because I felt pretty homeless in the last couple of years, and I never felt at home here in Kortedala. So it's time to find someplace where I feel like it's home.
So now you know what you have to do, Brianna.