I actually have all these tapes, from when I was five, from when I was 10, and from when I was 15, that don't really have to do anything with each other, but they're sort of archeological in my musical history.

I was in my early 30s, and I longed for real friendships and real relationships, and I started asking myself why I didn't have that. I had a couple of male friends, but every time I would hang out with them, it felt like there was something keeping us apart.

If you come to the conclusion that there is no conclusion, well, that's a conclusion, too.

This is one of the reasons I'm so interested in stories. Because everyone has a story in their life, and when their story doesn't make sense, that's when we get depressed, I think.

I feel like the few times in my life when I really felt like I love my own story is when I've been the happiest.

I find it quite hard to connect with the songs where I portray myself as this clumsy, adorable, love-struck man-child.

You always try different versions of yourself through songwriting. It can get a bit annoying to see them walk around and do their thing when you feel like, 'I'm not that person any more.'

For me, it's sort of like a cultural democracy or musical socialism to take a stand and get out of the major cities if you can.

I would love to hear Marilyn Manson's fans or something, what their stories would be like.

I've never felt at home in Kortedala, or in Gothenburg, so I always felt like I needed to go somewhere and find some kind of perspective on things.

Even if I wrote a song about math or animals or whatever, there would still be the question, 'Why did you write about that? And what does it say about you?'

I've established a certain voice over my albums. It can be an obstacle, but in the end, I think it's a strength, because I can build upon that voice, which is ultimately very much mine.

You carry all these hurts and breakups with you forever. But there is this sort of joyful realization that the things that caused you pain were real. There is something beautiful and invigorating in holding onto that.

I became paranoid for a long time: I thought that people were out to harm me.

A lot of my songs are written prophetically: I write something, and then I make it happen.

I like telling stories with a sense of humor. But humor can also distance you from the subject you're writing about. I'm interested in using humor as a portal to something a bit more serious.

Any band that doesn't have a sense of humor has a little bit of a problem.

I have this part in myself that sometimes gets me into situations that can never end well, just because I want to prove to myself that I'm no good.

The way to write really good songs is to write about the things that happen in your life and where you are in the moment, and writing about stuff that happens in your 30s is not the sexiest song subject.

I think when you get into your 30s, you start to realize all of the patterns you have in your life and all of the stuff that you're avoiding. It's a terribly unsung period in people's lives. I can't think about many artists who have sung about it, because it's so not sexy.

It always feel like people are doing more grown-up things than you are.

I wouldn't write about something that I haven't experienced myself.

I think it's healthy that people that work in a creative field look for inspiration in a different creative field.

There's so much nostalgia for music from the past.

I start writing songs first as an entertainer, and I like funny stories that wrap up with dignity.

I need to write a sitcom, but something with warmth, not one where the dad comes home and he's treated like an idiot.

Australia's beautiful, but I'm not too into Australian culture.

Once I release a song, it's not just about me or the people... I write about. They're my stories, but they're not really mine any more.

I think a lot of my songs are very silly and very stupid, written to entertain people, but in the end, I always come to that last line, and I feel that I have to wrap this up with a bit of dignity and a little tear in the eye; otherwise, the joke would be on the characters in the song.

I realised that music controls me more than I control music. I had to write songs that were convincing me that things would get better.

When I was working on 'Night Falls Over Kortedala,' I was listening a lot to 'Graceland,' the Paul Simon record. I really got into the lyrics on that album. The opening line is so brilliant, the way he sets the scene.

I've started listening to music in a new way after I started running. When it comes to running, I really got into the idea of track listings that way, too.

I remember when I grew up and Dad would take me to kindergarten in the morning, and you could smell the chips in the air from the factory nearby.

I think of the Jens Lekman in the songs as a completely different person who's stealing my stories.

I try and take it for what it is, and I'm very at peace with the fact that when I'm done with the songs, they don't belong to me anymore. They belong to the listeners.

I still love touring rock clubs around the world, and that's something that's really a part of me. I love making albums, and I'm a wedding singer on the side; that's my parallel career. So I love all those aspects of making music.

It's good to let go of control. That's probably something all artists and song writers will say at some point.

I went to Legoland in Denmark when I was five, I think, but I went to Germany when I was 17 to have a little adventure after graduation.

It's not difficult getting into the charts in Sweden. It's a very different musical climate, and in a very good way, I think, because artists like Jose Gonzalez or The Knife can actually get on the charts.

Christmas music is usually more concentrated pop music in a way. It's meant to make us feel good, and it's meant to make us like we belong somewhere.

It's weird talking about the album as a living being with its own thoughts and direction, especially if you're the one creating it.

The 'sent' folder of my email program is really my biggest inspiration and my biggest source of lyrics. That's where I go to pick up a lot of the lyrics that I'm writing.

I really love the idea of stepping into another character and being able to sing maybe stuff that is not my thought and my own opinions, but be able to portray someone else and take a walk in their shoes for a while.

I found a favorite chord, which is B flat 7 - that's my favorite chord.

Ever since I started writing music, I've wanted to know what the songs are about and to be able to tell stories.

In the past, I used to rely on the randomness of working with samples, which was a good way because it threw you in a completely different direction. You just thought, 'What if I take this samba drum and combined it with an '80s synth line or something from this record?'

I like short beards. Not a big fan of the bigger beards.

Older men in my family - back to my grandpa - were basically completely bald.

The whole thing with playing on a stage with mics and all that has always been kind of uncomfortable to me.

Getting my hair cut is just a very special moment for me. I don't know exactly why, but it's such an intimate, almost religious experience. I'm very careful with who gets to cut my hair.