Oh you’re so welcome back Jens

July 7, 2010

By Steven B.

Photo by Julien Bourgeois

As any self-respecting (or at least those subscribed to the mailing list) Jens Lekman fan surely already knows, Jens will be returning for a small tour of Europe in less than a month after a rather lengthy spell in new home Australia. I don’t know about you, but I was beginning to think the only way I’d ever get to see him live was to buy a house (with a garden) in Melbourne (or perhaps get married). Either way, it’ll be good to know he’s around (or at least within a train trip) again, even if just for a bit.

As if that weren’t enough good Jens news, today he also posted a mix he made, A Summer in 3/4 on his website:

I got the opportunity to remix my favourite song from Au Revoir Simone’s beautiful album Still Night, Still Light. While listening to the song I realised how nice it’d be to transform their straight 4/4 time synthpop into a whirlwind waltz or maybe a barcarole if you will. It took a long time to chop up all the syllables and the tiny tiny samples, but I think the result got the song into a whole swirling new direction.

While making the remix, my mind started working in 3/4 and 6/8 time. I started looking around for tracks in that tempo to make a mix, I wasn’t intending to but I couldn’t help it. It was all a big swirl. After a while I heard it everywhere. In soul ballads, in polyrhythmical african pop, in old movies. In the ocean waves tumbling in against the shore, in the beat of a lovers heart. One two three, one two three…

Mix contents:

Au Revoir Simone – Shadows (Jens Lekman’s remix) /// Barbara Mason – Oh How It Hurts /// Thomas Mapfumo – Madiro /// the Morning Benders – Excuses /// dialogue from Gregory’s Girl (1981) /// Chad & Jeremy – Everyone’s Gone To The Moon /// music and dialogue from Day Of The Locust (1975) /// Eggstone – Birds In Cages /// Pete Drake – Forever /// Armando Mantovani – Around the World /// dialogue from Puberty Blues (1981) /// Jane Morgan & the Troubadours – Fascination /// Armando Trovajoli – L’Amore Dice Ciao /// Sharon O’Neill – Puberty Blues /// Like A Sleepy Blue Ocean

European dates:

Aug 13 – Göteborg, Sweden - Way Out West
Aug 11 – Berlin, Germany - Lido
Aug 10 – Hamburg, Germany – Kunst
Aug 9 – Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
Aug 7 – Stockholm, Sweden - Strand
Aug 5 – Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Paradiso
Aug 4 – Paris, France - Nouveau Casino
Aug 3 – London, UK - Union Chapel
Aug 2 – Manchester, UK - the Deaf Institute
Aug 1 – Dublin, Ireland - Whelans