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.
Last week I was on KSER 90.7 FM Everett’s Blue Moon Lounge (very fitting name since my first album is called Blue Moon) and you can have a listen to that interview here. (You’ll have to fast forward to the end of the first 8pm segment, and then the interview continues on the 9pm segment.)
I also did a short interview and played some songs on another great show at KSER, Nordic Roots and Branches with the ever lovely host Karen Pauley. You can tune in to that here!
“…Not dread but a connection with our past is what we feel, a thread running back to the artless creatures we once were when we first heard the oboe-like notes from the Great Horned Owl. In Paleolithic times, we suspected omens in its voice, heard in it questions we were unable to articulate, but which have stayed within us, incomplete and taunting. We are certain that ancient, taloned bird sees what we do not, knows what we never will. And some night, silent as a gliding feather, its immensity will engulf us at fireside to tell us things we want to know as well as those we don’t. In the shadowed forest we’re pulled by that lurking and alluring ghost and we are enthralled.”Welcome to Twin Peaks: Access Guide to the Town
2011 was a busy year for me. I worked hard to get an artist visa to the US, preparing for a tour that might go on for as long as two years. At the same time I wrote and recorded a new album. Now that I’ve landed in my tour in the US it’s also time for my new album to land. “The Owls Are Not What They Seem” is a collection of 12 new songs. My musical journey started out in 2004 when I recorded Blue Moon and me and my musicians all gathered in a basement studio in Stockholm recording acoustically and almost all the instruments at the same time. After that I tried a more common way of recording in layers, adding instruments upon instruments. For my third album I hired a producer, Tobias Fröberg and for my fourth album Florida i experimented with a bigger soundscape with more drums than I had ever used before.
For “The Owls Are Not What They Seem” I went back to basics. After having done an acoustic solo tour for my album Florida Acoustic in 2010 I felt I was in my best element when I was playing and singing at the same time without the restrains of headphones and click-tracks. So I decided to make an ablum that was the essence of that me. Just something I could record in my bedroom without the pressure of a big production, time and opinions from others. All the songs on “The Owls Are Not What They Seem” are recorded that way. Me – playing and singing at the same time, then sparsely adding other instruments to enhance and highlight where I thought it was needed. My goal was to keep it down and make an acoustic album with a live, organic feel to it. I had no interest in changing the world or inventing something new. I just wanted to make a beautiful acoustic album. And here it is: “The Owls Are Not What They Seem”
You can now pre-order the album here. You’ll get a free track straight away. Physical signed albums will only be available through my website until the release. I also have two special guests on the album; Martin Hederos is playing the piano on “Nothing quite so gentle” and Pontus Borg has lent his voice to “7 miles wide”. Please hit the share button to tell all your friends.
I hope you guys have all listened to my new EP “L – part one of L.O.V.E”. “L” is my 5th album, not counting remixes and acoustic albums. I started out playing live when I was 23 years old just playing at every little bar I could find. I built me a backing band and an audience and at 25 I was finally ready to release my first studio album “Blue Moon”. “Blue Moon” was recorded to reflect the way I sounded live back then, and is actually recorded live, all musicians together.
So although I’m looking forward and release new stuff, I think it’s important not to forget about your past accomplishes so I decided to re-release “Blue Moon” in a whole new way. So what I did was to make a YouTube album with all the songs from the album, including cover art and lyrics.
På lördag spelar jag på Kulturnatten i Uppsala. Egentligen spelar jag inte alls på natten eftersom jag spelar redan kl 15 på eftermiddagen för den som vill starta dagen tidigt på Katalin.
För 10 år sen bodde jag i Uppsala. Jag flyttade dit eftersom jag tröttnade på att bo i andrahand i Stockholm och hade en kompis som köpt lägenhet i Uppsala och talade sig varm om det. I Uppsala kom jag på riktigt igång med musiken. Från att bara ha suttit hemma på kammaren och spelat för mig själv eller möjligtvis någon väl utvald kompis träffade jag helt plötsligt på folk som hade inspelningsmöjligheter. Så jag spelade in min första demo och skickade den till radioprogrammet p3 demo. Jag trodde aldrig att de skulle ta upp den, men min låt Ghosts, som även finns med på min debutplatta Blue Moon, hamnade på deras topplista i flera månader. Plötsligt rasade det in mail från folk som lyssnat och jag fattade att det kanske faktiskt fanns några därute som ville höra mer. Jag blev kallad “Uppsalatjejen Sofia Talvik” i Sonic och helt plötsligt hade jag bytt sida på landet från att vara Göteborgstjej till Uppsalatjej.
Det blev inte direkt en massa spelningar i Uppsala då, men nu kommer jag alltså tillbaka på lördag och spelar lite låtar för alla kulturnissar och studenter i Uppis. Vi ses på Katalin kl 15!
Spotify is adding my debut album “Blue Moon” and spotify addict Joe is listing it on his blog. I’m voting for Joe’s blog to become the official spotify blog! Hear that spotify?!
