Sofia Talvik – Americana / Folk with Swedish Roots
Unmistakably Nordic in flavor, Sofia Talvik somehow still conforms to American interpretations of her own original music, a North Sea siren blending sparkle and melancholy, creating a special niche of folk music.
Merry Christmas! Today us Swedes celebrate Christmas but since some of you celebrate on the 25th this is just the next to last window in my Xmas Calendar. So why not combine a very Swedish Christmas song with a very American instrument. In today’s window I’m singing and playing “Strålande Jul” on a mountain dulcimer I got earlier this year. I’ve never really played the dulcimer before but I thought it had quite a Christmassy kind of sound.
Ho Ho Ho! Earlier this year I played a few shows up in Oregon and did something called the Salem Songwriter Sessions, which is basically a local TV show on CCTV (Salem, OR.) featuring artists playing live with the Salem Songwriter crew!
As I had just finished writing my new Christmas single at the time I thought it would be perfect to record it with the Salem Songwriter guys, and here it is -“One Last Wish For Christmas” live from Oregon!
Tom Phillips: Guitar
Aaron Panko: Bass
Audio: Brandon Johnson & Jonas
Filming Crew:
Charles Lewis
Dan Sprenkle
Sara Roth
Eric Kittleson
Anita Panko
Get the official single here: http://music.sofiatalvik.com/album/one-last-wish-for-christmas
I knew I couldn’t be the only Swedish artist to tour the US in an old van! So today’s window is a Christmas card from another Swedish band who also like to do that. Folk-Rock band Secret Circus who are kindly sharing their song “Waves” as a free download with all the followers of my Xmas Calendar!
Secret Circus was started by twins Klas and Joel Åhman in 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden. The maiden voyage sent the brothers bumming around Europe, playing their way from town to town. They immediately discovered that music was their calling and decided to give music their all. They quit their jobs and spent the following year writing and recording their debut album “This is Secret Circus“.
Every year they flee the cold winter of Sweden and spend the season in their studio in Roswell, NM where they’ve recorded most of their material. And on January 18th I’ll be joining them for a concert in Roswell, NM (aliens anyone?) so don’t miss out on that if you’re in the neighborhood. Go to https://sofiatalvik.com/gigs for details.
Go here to download “Waves” by Secret Circus, choose your own price or get it totally free!
Merry Christmas from us all!
To give you a break from all the Santa Clauses and elfs on TV I’m sharing my very own Drivin’ & Dreaming show in this window of the Christmas Calendar. During 2012 I have been touring all over the US and for a while I was ambitious to film and edit it as well. Here’s 10 episodes covering the Drivin’ & Dreaming tour 2012 from North Carolina all the way to Illinois.
You’ll get to see White Trash McGywer fix the RV when it breaks down, follow us backstage, meet a lot of wonderful people and of course enjoy a lot of great music by me and many other artists and bands. It’s been such an adventure and I’m so happy I got to share it with all of you!
Here’s the link to watch them all on YouTube, or you can watch them below!
In 2006 my Christmas single tradition started thanks to a collaboration with Swedish electronica artist Sophie Rimheden. Sophie was one of the artists who contributed to my album Street of Dreamix, a remixed version of my second album Street of Dreamsthat was released that same year.
Sophie and I decided to write a Christmas single together, doing something different from what we usually do. So we wrote and recorded “Xmas on the Dance Floor” a pop/disco/electronica song about dancing you ass off at Christmas, under the name “Sofia & Sophie”.
Sophie has since released a bunch of albums, most recently an album “HAJ” and a book called “Elektronika Drottning?” (the album is included in the book). Sophie also has her own Christmas Calendar called Sound Calendar that you can check out here!
Here’s the Christmas single that started it all, I give you: “Xmas on the Dance Floor” by Sofia & Sophie