Kristian Matsson is the Tallest Man On Earth. As it were. The
27-year-old Swedish songsmith who, in reality may not even crack
six feet, has a post-modern take on pre-war blues, his lo-fidelity
strum-and-wail act sounding a lot like the work of someone who's
spent quality time with The Anthology of American Folk Music.
"I found this way of making music, overnight, in 2006," says
Matsson of his evolution into new-millennial bluesman.
"I've always tried to pick the guitar like the old blues guys,
like Skip James, Son House, Booker White. Try as I might, I never
succeeded in playing like them. But, all of a sudden, one night I
realised that I could use the energy of those songs to fill my own
songs. I made one song, then another one came, then another one. It
was effortless, like I finally found my way to make music."
Though "a lot of people find it weird" that Matsson is a Swede
playing the blues, he hasn't found a perceived lack of authenticity
a problem. In fact, the debut Tallest Man On Earth album,
Shallow Grave, has met with much acclaim, taking Matsson
from tiny Leksand unto the world.
Born and raised in Stockholm, Matsson had spent years playing in
bands, including a long-running combo called Montezumas. Feeling
his band was "going nowhere", Leksand retired to the countryside
last year, finding an old farmhouse for less rent than his
one-bedroom Stockholm pad.
There, Matsson started work on Shallow Grave, buoyed by
an increasing internet presence. That crested when, upon the LP's
release, influential internet behemoth Pitchfork gave it a
way-positive review.
Since then, Matsson has traversed the world, culminating in his
first Australian tour. He's also spent much of this year talking
about himself and that kooky moniker.
"I needed a great name," Matsson says of his decision to crown
himself the Tallest Man on Earth. "I needed that name to force
myself to write good enough songs and make good enough
performances. If the songs weren't good enough, or the crowd didn't
like me, then the name would seem stupid. To make that name seem
right, I have to try and be amazing."
The Tallest Man on Earth plays tonight at the Toff In
Town, Melbourne and tomorrow at the Grace Emily in Adelaide.
-Anthony Carew, The Age