Karl Leander started playing music with one purpose: to impress girls.
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