Jens Lekman has introduced his first solo album in eight years. Songs for Different Individuals’s Weddings, a companion file to a e book of the identical identify by Lekman and bestselling writer David Levithan, is out September 12 through Secretly Canadian; the novel will probably be printed August 5 through Abrams Books. The pleasant lead single ‘Sweet From a Stranger’ arrives at present alongside a Rena Johnson-directed video. Test it out under and scroll down for the album cowl, tracklist, and Lekman’s upcoming tour dates.
Songs for Different Individuals’s Weddings attracts inspiration from Lekman’s personal expertise as a marriage singer, following the discharge of ‘If You Ever Want A Stranger (To Sing at Your Wedding ceremony)’ in 2004. “It was meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, however folks took it very severely and began asking me to truly play at their weddings,” Lekman defined. “Which I did fortunately; it was an honor. Within the 2010s, when streaming made it tougher to make a residing from music, the marriage gigs grew to become a method to get by financially, and likewise gave new which means to music itself.”
The Swedish singer-songwriter approached Levithan (Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist) about engaged on a undertaking collectively earlier than the pandemic. “I’m a novelist with an curiosity in love songs, and Jens and I’ve corresponded ever since I acquired in contact with him in 2005, after listening to his album on repeat whereas writing a e book,” Levithan recalled. “I needed to thank him for the soundtrack. We saved in contact over time, and shortly earlier than the pandemic, he approached me with the concept for a novel about an indie musician who performs weddings. I used to be intrigued. To make it a real collaboration, I instructed we add a twist: that the marriage singer writes an unique tune for every couple, primarily based on a dialog with them about their love (which Jens had finished earlier than, however not for each marriage ceremony.) Half the chapters of the e book can be written with me telling the story of the marriage first and Jens having to produce the couple’s tune after. The opposite half would begin with Jens giving me a tune, after which me having to give you the story that led to the tune.”
The brand new tune, in response to Lekman, “is the purpose within the story the place the lovers meet for the primary time, or do they?” He went on:
The concept to make a story idea album (a rock opera?) felt forbidden. Which, for me, is often an indication that I’m on the suitable path. Whereas investigating the style of narrative idea albums, I spotted that one in all my all-time favourite albums, Frank Sinatra’s Watertown, was the truth is simply that– a file that informed a chronological story over the size of an LP. Having by no means been a fan of musicals or rock operas, this album served as inspiration.
I wrote the album whereas the e book was nonetheless being written and, at some factors, I began imagining what occurred between the e book’s chapters. The e book and the album finally grew to become intertwined but additionally discovered their very own paths. The e book offered the construction of the story, however the album typically snuck behind the scenes. Tales from the songs made their manner into the e book and vice versa.
Lekman concluded: “Whereas this story may be very a lot a couple of relationship and the way it’s mirrored by way of the relationships and weddings of others, most of all I believe it’s a love story about music and its worth in a time when it’s been devalued and become content material by tech firms. Its means to assuage and join and its function within the transitional moments of our lives akin to weddings. It’s a love tune to like songs.”
Songs for Different Individuals’s Weddings Cowl Art work:
Songs for Different Individuals’s Weddings Tracklist:
1. The First Lovesong
2. A Tuxedo Sewn for Two
3. Sweet from a Stranger
4. Two Little Pigs
5. Converse to Me in Music
6. With You I Can Hear My Personal Voice
7. I Wish to Need You Once more
8. GOT-JFK
9. Wedding ceremony in Brooklyn
10. For Skye
11. More and more Out of date
12. On a Pier, On the Hudson
13. Wedding ceremony in Leipzig
14. LEJ-GOT
15. You Have One New Message
16. Only for One Second
17. The Final Lovesong
Jens Lekman 2025 Tour Dates:
Nov 8 – Minneapolis, MN – Amsterdam Bar & Corridor
9 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Corridor
Nov 10 – Toronto, ON – The Nice Corridor
Nov 12 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair
Nov 13 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse
Nov 14 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts
Nov 16 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Corridor of Williamsburg
Nov 17 – Washington, D.C. – Union Stage
Nov 19 – Durham, NC – Motorco Music Corridor
Nov 21 – Atlanta, GA – The EARL
Nov 22 – Nashville, TN – Exit/In
Nov 24 – Dallas, TX – Deep Ellum
Nov 25 – Austin, TX – Mohawk
Nov 28 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
Nov 29 – Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room
Nov 30 – San Francisco, CA – The Unbiased
Dec 2 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
Dec 3 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
