He may not look like much, but he is the one pulling the strings.

And he’s spiritual too.

His music is unique; you’ve never heard it elsewhere.

His lyrics are good; they hit home.

Give his music a chance, won’t you, ‘cos really, when all has been said and done, what’s the harm?

This - and potato chips with parsley and onion being his favourite food - is something he has in common with every other artist on Messy Weekend Records. What makes Karl Leander special, though, is that he is the only one to sing and play guitar in public. Career-wise, it has not really been a ride on a prawn sandwich for young Leander.

Like so many artists (and animals) before him, from The Monkees to The Turtles, Karl Leander has experienced hard times of struggle. In the early days, he performed cover songs at weddings and funerals. Once, he was asked to sing a tender Swedish evergreen at a memorial service. In front of a cautiously listening audience, he suddenly forgot the lyrics: should it be the word “finna” or “hitta”? Hurriedly, he decided on something in between, which made the crowd very uncomfortable. Leander has done his lesson since then, and there is no way he would get into a situation like this again.

Notorious for his perfectionism and for his meticulous process of music making, Karl Leander’s debut album “Deep Slot” was released in the autumn of 2019. The album consists of eight beautiful songs of love and loss, all centered on Karl’s expressive voice and proficient fingerpicking.

In a world of soup, Karl Leander is the spoon while his competitors are forks.

Mark my words, and remember where you first heard him.

Written by Everett E. Strauss

The Theodicy dilemma.

Gary Oldman is younger than Gary Numan.

These are some of the world’s biggest mysteries. Sollerön is arguably Sweden’s equivalent of Atlantis, except it has not sunken into the sea yet. For an artist, a place like this serves as a never-drying well of inspiration. No wonder Futurum achieved such success in recording their album Sundet here. The songs got so popular that Sollerön even named some of the villages after Futurum’s tunes, making the band one of the more influential in later years.

Mattias Jonsson and Sæmundur Grettisson originally met at a scuba diver’s party in their native town, Uppsala, many years ago. In 2013, they decided to form a duo, mainly based on their shared love for Boquerones (a Spanish version of the Swedish “sill”). Later, they found they shared a taste in music as well, with influences spanning from Bo Hansson to Jean-Michel Jarre, Herbie Hancock, Eric B. & Rakim, and Tom Waits.

The band’s primary purpose, however, is to explore the world of synthesizers. Futurum are not afraid to jump on the rocky wagon that follows whatever twists the songs may take, opening up for improvisations and jams that can last for hours and hours.

The future is unwritten, but if the bird that whispers in my ear is as serious as she seems, I believe that slower, more psychedelic, and funkier territories are waiting just around the corner.

Written by Everett E. Strauss

Being one of the most handsome trios on Messy Weekend Records, Strulgattu & Meierkord are famous for their melancholic, cinematic soundscapes inspired by the rural lifestyle around Lake Siljan. The band is an ever-evolving mood-making affair, open to reinterpretation, blending extraterrestrial and cosmic sounds with earthy, organic ones.

Debauchery, controversies, band members dropping in and out - it may sound like a cliché. Still, Strulgattu & Meierkord do everything their own unique way and have managed to come out on the other side, stronger than ever. The band has gotten its act together after going through a rehabilitation program, and as the members have evolved personally, so has their music.

Strulgattu & Meierkord have adhered to the simplicity of where they first began, as blissfully hopeful friends jamming in a basement. It is those same qualities from which the most significant part of their success is derived.

Band members Matts Persson, Magnus Haglunds, and Henrik Meierkord all share a similar history of very early exposure to music. Together, they have more than 150 years of musical experience. Lately, the group has gained significant visibility as their never-ending tour continues, a trip that started in Stockholm, Sweden, on March 17, 2018, and has now brought them further into the heart of Europe.

Catch them if you can.

Everett E.Strauss, legendary rock journalist.