Guardian Music — From Björk to Konono No 1, a variety of modern artists have embraced the ancient spirit of mbira musicWhat are they? "Thumb piano" is a generic, westernised name for a range of different sub-Saharan lamellophones (instruments played by plucking tune... more info

The Yellow Stereo — While listening to the collection of Jens Lekman great covers over at Pop Tarts Suck Toasted, I realized that I wasn’t able to mention Lekman’s new song that was released as a free download towards the end of July — due entirely to my extended ... more info

Stereogum — After reminding us “The End Of The World Is Bigger Than Love” (aka the summer is best experienced in 3/4 time), Lekman appeared on the Australian game show Spicks And Specks dressed like Kraftwerk’s Florian Schneider (or Gary Numan’s Swedish ... more info

Guardian Music — From George Formby to Jens Lekman, the four-stringed sibling of the guitar has had champions both comical and conventionalWhat is it? A tiny, four-stringed guitar that can look comical or cute when strummed, first popularised in early 21st-century Ha... more info

Guardian Music — This Kentucky lad's creepy ballads and twisted hymns provide a surreal soundtrack to Smallville USAHometown: Lexington, Kentucky.The lineup: James Friley (vocals, keyboards).The background: We're sure it wasn't deliberate on his part when it came to ... more info

Music For Ants — MP3 Jens Lekman – The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love New music from Jens Lekman is always a reason for celebration, especially when the result is something as gorgeous and poignant as his new single. The track features the Swedish pop maestro... more info

Guardian Music — Don't be fooled by the beret, these two fellows are actually from Sweden – the finest exporter of pop in EuropeSweden's pretty much the motherland when it comes to pop music. Obviously, Abba bestride Swedish pop like a four-headed beast, but recent... more info

411 Mania — Talking about canceled bad taste sit-coms, Built To Spill remixes, new music from Jens Lekman, a whole bunch of Robert Pollard releases on the way, Avey Tere's solo album, and more. more info

We All Want Someone To Shout For — Yesterday I was kept busy by work, and then I went to The Black Keys at Terminal 5 right after (post on that coming later..). So I didn’t have anytime to blog for once. Sorry about that. I missed out posting the new song from the lovable Swedish ma... more info

DrownedInSound — Bloody hell! A new song by Jens Lekman! What pleasure! The Australia-based Swedish indie-pop singer of much popularity last released a record what seems like a million years ago. Actually it was just three, but in such time he's contracted swine flu,... more info