If there is anything that Swedish singer/songwriter/humorist Jens Lekman knows best, it’s how to treat fans in the 21st century. In fact, it would be good for a lot of artists to take cues from what Lekman has done, infusing his self-run website with monthly open-dialogues and an endless supply of free mp3s. When it comes to the topic of filesharing, Lekman takes a practical point of view much to the chagrin of the RIAA: “you can download my entire records with filesharing programs, I don’t mind that but if you like my music please support me – buy my records, come to my shows or make a Paypal donation”. Lekman seems to be one of the few artists who can elicit a smidgen of sympathy from the pirate going rapidshare-crazy.

Well Jens has posted a lot more free material since the last time I checked his site. The first track, which you can download below, is from a 2005 split 7” with friend and fellow Swede El Perro del Mar, entitled “I Don’t Know If She’s Worth 900 Kroner”. The 7” is long since sold-out, so going digital is your best bet of hearing the record (the B-side is del Mar’s “Shake It Off” which is from her Look It’s El Perro del Mar! debut). The second recording posted below is a half hour live set Lekman did for the Kortedala Beauty Center — which may or may not be where “Shirin” works. Also meant to be a companion to his latest Night Falls Over Kortedala LP, the recording is very beautiful, even by Jens’s standards.

Check out the songs below and, if you want more, head over to his site:

Jens Lekman // I Don’t Know If She’s Worth 900 kr.

Jens Lekman // Kalendervägen 113.D

Tags: El Perro del Mar, Jens Lekman, mp3, Night Falls Over Kortedala

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 10:17 am and is filed under Musical Musings, Older Stuff, Track Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.