Ellika Henrikson
Lekman will play solo at his Madison gig.
Swedish indie icon Jens Lekman has written a lot of songs. Hundreds of them, in fact — he once overcame a creative slump by releasing a new song every week for a year. And a clear mastery of his craft is evident on his latest album, Life Will See You Now, a sample-heavy record whose bright, chamber pop hooks elevate Lekman’s typically melancholic lyrics. Isthmus spoke with Lekman in advance of his Feb. 7 performance at High Noon Saloon.
You’re known for your witty lyrics. How do you come up with them?
Usually something happens in my life. It might be something mundane or traumatic, but for some reason I start telling people about it, and keep telling them about it over and over again, until I realize there’s something in it that intrigues me. And that’s when I put the pen to the paper and start writing — to figure out why.
Swedish is your first language but you write mostly in English. Is that ever a challenge?
Sometimes it’s a challenge, but sometimes it makes me an accidental poet. There’ve been times when I’ve written something the way I thought it was supposed to be in English, and then someone said, “Oh, I love that word you’ve created. You write so poetically.”
What musicians or songs have you been listening to lately?
For the last few days I’ve been listening to an old song by Enrique Iglesias called “Love to See You Cry,” trying to understand what it’s about. It sounds really pretty, but he keeps saying “I don’t know why, but I love to see you cry.” It’s like the most sadistic song I’ve ever heard. I’m trying to figure out whether there’s some sort of deeper, darker meaning to it.
What do you like about touring in America? And what do you dislike?
When I was here about 10 years ago, in 2006, I had an all-female band, and we did encounter a lot of sexism, unfortunately. But I did another tour last year, with another all-female band, and the reaction was so much more positive. I don’t know if it’s because Trump took office, and people felt like they had to pick a side, or if things have just changed, but there was a big difference. It made me happy. And apart from that, I’ve always loved touring in America. People take care of you. They ask if you have a place to stay, or if they can buy you food.
What should readers know about your upcoming Madison performance?
I’ll be playing solo. It’ll be really intimate and special. And the concert will start off acoustic and then slowly transition into a full-on dance party.
