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.
My video, It’s Just Love (feat. Bernard Butler), has advanced to the Top 10 round of the FameCast Finals. I’m one step closer to winning that quarterly grand prize!
Click here to view my video in the Top 10 round now. Voting for the Top 5 begins at Midnight EST on Sunday, Nov. 8th, 2009 and ends one week later at Midnight EST on Sunday, Nov. 15th, 2009.
Please help me get to the top 5 by giving me your vote now!
My video for “It’s Just Love”, is competing in the FameCast Finals. I’m close to winning the quarterly grand prize! Vote for me today!
VOTE HERE
Sofia Talvik är helt underbar
Sofia Talvik är för underskattad för sitt eget bästa.
Sofia Talvik – Jonestown
Betyg: 4
För några år sedan fanns det kvinnliga singer/songwriters i varje buske. En av dem var Sofia Talvik som debuterade för tre år sedan. Hon fick en dunderhit med den sorgliga saken Ghosts.
Sedan dess har hon släppt platta nummer två, samarbetat med Bernard Butler och spelat på Lollapalooza-festivalen. Trots det är hon lite i skymundan i Sverige. Vilket är tråkigt. För Sofia Talvik är en egen artist. Hon har ett eget uttryck, en fantastisk röst och låtar som är små berättelser, nästan som medeltida ballader. Jonestown är en något mer lågmäld platta, de riktiga hittarna uteblir. Men det är egentligen bara skönt.
Tuva Klinthäll
Smålandsposten
BluesBunny takes on the new album and gives it 4 carrots:
“Street of Dreams” is the second album from Sweden’s Sofia Talvik. This album is 13 tracks of quirky love songs that run deeper than they seem.
Highlight was the single “It’s Just Love” featuring Bernard Butler. Swooping and dramatic, this song is a convincing demonstration of the talent of those involved. Not that the rest of the album disappoints. “I Won the First Prize Tonight” sounds like a pleasant folk song but the lyrics are altogether darker. “Holding Your Hand” also sounds lightweight and fluffy but is in fact a touching commentary on the search for a soulmate. Ending on the bluesy “So Good to Me”, she tells us of the search for happiness once more. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Ms Talvik does not give us easy answers. There are no simplistic love songs here. Things do not often work out but we should never give up hope.
Charmingly performed and a fine example of the genre, this album makes for a pleasant and enjoyable listen. We think that a lot of people will like this release. Nothing offends here and you get a nice, warm feeling from it but it does bear up to closer investigation. There is a lot more substance there than the first listen indicates. Well worth tracking down therefore and adding to the collection. Available from her website.
Salvo Magazine appoints December their mp3 of the month in their upcoming issue. Read it first here!
MP3 of the Month
Sofia Talvik – DecemberIt’s not very often I come across Folk music that’s to my taste. Maybe it’s just a genre that doesn’t really do that much for me, I don’t know. Now, before all Folk artists out there get all defensive and start writing in complaining that I’m dissing them as a collective, please, save your venting, you couldn’t be further from the truth.
You see, although I’m not the biggest lover of Folk music in general, when it’s done properly, like pretty much any genre (especially Classical but that’s a totally different story), it can be stunning.
Look at artists like Gemma Hayes, Kathryn Williams, Nick Drake, Tom McRae or Cara Dillon, with the latter especially being truly sublime. Folk absolutely is a genre that’s both under appreciated whilst also being a backbone to music as a whole and one we must all embrace ‘for the greater good’.
That’s what leads me onto Sofia. We decided to choose December as our MP3 of the month above all other tracks off her most recent long playing effort Street of Dreams as it would be too easy to choose the single It’s Just Love based on the facts that 1 – it’s a single already and 2 – it’s a duet with one of my personal heroes, Bernard Butler, now, that would bias the vote ten fold.
No, what sets December apart from the bunch is that it’s just so much more delicate than the others.With a vocal range tinged by echoes of Dolores Mary O'Riordan Burton from the Cranberries blended with a light heartedness that in some ways isn’t too distant from Joni Mitchell in her heyday all those years ago, December has managed to remain on constant replay for a good while now and will continue to do so until another track off the album takes our fancy.
Featuring an accent that does at times sound Irish it’s almost unnoticeable that she is in fact from Sweden. Don’t worry. We’ll keep the Abba references to a minimum.Sofia has obviously been working as a solo artist for long enough now to realise where she wants to get, it’s abundantly clear that she’s working with people who are on her wavelength and are helping her do that
If there was ever a time for artists like Sofia to be in the forefront it’s got to be now, we’ve got others Acoustic Soloists like James Morrison and Blunt pushing acoustic based song writing into the mainstream and whilst we really shouldn’t pin all of our hopes on artists like these, god help us if we did, it is great to see that every now and then artists like Sofia do get the spotlight shone in their direction. 2007 should be the year that spotlight gets turned to face her and we wish her all the best when it does.
I am also green with envy that she’s worked with a hero, but I’ll get over that so don’t worry too much..
www.myspace.com/sofiatalvik
Duncan Buchanan