Kristian Matsson, better known as the Tallest Man on Earth, spends his downtime on the countryside of Dalarna, Sweden, where he tends to horses and writes music. Sound heavenly? Well, yes, it is, Matsson tells Exclaim! as he prepares to brave the border for several Canadian tour dates.
"I just play a lot and I have guitars spread all over," Matsson tells us. "Living on the countryside, I have a lot of great nature around me. I take care of horses, and it's really down to earth. I'm lucky, and I really enjoy it all."
Matsson's second Tallest Man on Earth album, The Wild Hunt, is the first with significant North American distribution, courtesy of his new label, Dead Oceans. The record, which was released on Tuesday (April 13), is ten tracks of stripped-down yet emotional folk rock, drawing comparisons to Lead Belly, Bon Iver and, more often than not, Bob Dylan, due to Matsson's decidedly nasal vocal style.
"It's no secret that I love Bob Dylan, that's why I picked up the guitar in the first place. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music, and, of course I sing exactly like him," laughs Matsson. "I guess it's in the voice."
Matsson, who also plays in an on-again, off-again Swedish garage band Montezumas, says the decision to sign with Dead Oceans was one of the easiest in his recording career.
"It's been great [working with them]. I didn't rush into signing with an American label," he says. "But it felt right since the first day I met them. They were my favourites from the start."
The Tallest Man on Earth is currently on tour in North America, and has Canadian stops in Montreal (April 16), Toronto (April 17), Vancouver (May 12), Edmonton (May 14) and Calgary (May 15). For a complete list of Mattson's tour dates, check his MySpace.
"I just play a lot and I have guitars spread all over," Matsson tells us. "Living on the countryside, I have a lot of great nature around me. I take care of horses, and it's really down to earth. I'm lucky, and I really enjoy it all."
Matsson's second Tallest Man on Earth album, The Wild Hunt, is the first with significant North American distribution, courtesy of his new label, Dead Oceans. The record, which was released on Tuesday (April 13), is ten tracks of stripped-down yet emotional folk rock, drawing comparisons to Lead Belly, Bon Iver and, more often than not, Bob Dylan, due to Matsson's decidedly nasal vocal style.
"It's no secret that I love Bob Dylan, that's why I picked up the guitar in the first place. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music, and, of course I sing exactly like him," laughs Matsson. "I guess it's in the voice."
Matsson, who also plays in an on-again, off-again Swedish garage band Montezumas, says the decision to sign with Dead Oceans was one of the easiest in his recording career.
"It's been great [working with them]. I didn't rush into signing with an American label," he says. "But it felt right since the first day I met them. They were my favourites from the start."
The Tallest Man on Earth is currently on tour in North America, and has Canadian stops in Montreal (April 16), Toronto (April 17), Vancouver (May 12), Edmonton (May 14) and Calgary (May 15). For a complete list of Mattson's tour dates, check his MySpace.
