drums Archives - Sofia Talvik - Americana / Folk with Swedish Roots

January 15, 2012December 10, 2018

New album pre-order!

“…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.

October 16, 2011October 16, 2011

E – Update #3

Here’s a video from the studio when we recorded the vocals for “7 Miles Wide” Marcus has recorded a bunch of guitars and Joakim Lundgren has added drums as well. You’ll also get to hear an exclusive preview of the finished version of the song at the end of the video featuring Pontus Borg on vocals.

Thanks for helping out to fund this last EP in the L.O.V.E saga. Go here to help us finish the EP so we can release it on November 1st as planned.

August 9, 2011August 15, 2011

Interview with G.A.I.N

I met up with G.A.I.N who have recorded the second part of the H.A.T.E saga, ‘A – Part Two of H.A.T.E’. Here’s their thoughts about the project.

Hi G.A.I.N! You guys are doing “A – part two of H.A.T.E” how is the EP coming along? 
It’s coming along very well. It’s all done and waiting to be released. Niklas Stålvind of Wolf produced and mixed. Mike Wead of King Diamond and bibelblack mastered. From the final result we can definitely say that it sounds kick-ass! We’re very proud of what we’ve done and we can’t wait until we can share the result with the world!

  Great! Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?
 We’re just a couple of metalheads doing what we love. We all come from different places but our love for Metal brought us together. We all live in Stockholm and we like to go out and have a good old dirty time. It happens a little too often but that’s Metal for you! We live by the motto, Sex, Booze and Tattoos!   

What did you think of the original songs when you first heard them and did you think it was hard to interpret them into your own style or did you get ideas straight away? 
When we first heard the songs we wondered what the hell we’d gotten or self’s in to. It was a little hard to “connect” with the songs at first but after a few listening’s they grew on us and now we like them.  We decided early not to listen to the originals that much too ensure that our versions came more from us, so that they would sound like G.A.I.N.  Some songs we had ideas for right after the first listen but some came harder. The song that came easiest was probably “King of the Willow Tree” and one that we had to work a bit on was “Glow”.   

Which of the songs are you most pleased with and why? 
Our favorites are probably King of the Willow Tree and The War. We really like the raw drive of the riffs in both songs. They are really in our own style and don’t sound like covers at all. Your way of writing really fitted well into our kind of music. They came out just like our own songs.  

What’s your favorite gig memory? 
Three of us remember on gig in particular. Mr Bandiit was a little too excited and played a bit fast. This resulted in that Gus had to prioritize ether singing or breathing in the last song. He chose to sing…  He gave his last bit of energy in that song and as a result of that he ended up taking an ambulance ride to the hospital.   

Can you tell us a little bit about the recording sessions and what was most fun with being a part of this project? 
We recorded everything in Viper Studios. From this experience we learned that we will never record four songs in two days again. It’s borderline impossible and we don’t recommend it. We finished all the rhythm guitars and the drums in one day and thought we were doing very well. Only lead guitar, bass and vocals left right? The lead guitar and the bass were done at about 8 o’clock the next night. The vocals took another 7-8 hours and would have taken longer if it weren’t for the excellent vocal coaching Niklas Stålvind of Wolf provided. We’re forever grateful for that.  But on the whole it has been a lot of fun to be part of this project. We’ve learned a lot and would like to thank you for this opurtunity.  

What’s next on the agenda for G.A.I.N this fall? 
Get out and play. The big damn show! This fall we will focus on getting out and bring our music to the masses. We haven’t played all summer so we’re really excited about getting out there again! We’ll just have to make sure that Gus gets to breath. Do you know where we can get a portable oxygen tank?

  Thanks for hanging out! We look forward to hearing the songs.

Listen and pre-order ‘A – Part Two of H.A.T.E’ here!

July 31, 2011August 1, 2011

A – Part Two of H.A.T.E coming soon!!!

You haven’t forgotten about the mirror project of L.O.V.E have you? The second EP in the H.A.T.E series is soon being released and it’s the ultra cool rock band G.A.I.N from Sweden who has recorded this awesome version of ‘O – Part Two of L.O.V.E’. Be prepared for heavy riffs, spot on vocals and drums that will make your world shake!

Here’s a some videos from one of the recording sessions.

G.A.I.N is: Gus Savage – Guitar and Vocals, Johnnie Bane – Bass and Vocals, Rob Thorn – Lead Guitar, Rob Bandiit – Drums

May 24, 2011April 26, 2018

Interview with the producer of “O – part two of L.O.V.E”

O -part two of L.O.V.E is being released June 6th and we chained the producer to the wall for a while to get the truth out of him about the new EP…

Hi Joakim Lundgren, producer of “O – part two of L.O.V.E”! You’re the second producer in line to write a chapter in our book of L.O.V.E, how do you feel the progress has been so far?
Good! We’re done with mixing and mastering and I hope that it will spread like wild fire and be much appreciated.

What was your main inspiration for the sound of this EP?
I wanted to make a totally synthetic sound image around Sofias straight melodys and her clear voice, making an EP with almost no live elements but with big syntheseizers and plick plock drums …

… since that didnt happened at all, I wound up with the complete opposite. I still think the melodys are surrounded by big things in a good way, but Its all with guitars and piano instead of synths. The way the songs sounded to me, this was the natural way to record it.

What do you do when you’re not producing Sofia Talvik EPs?
I play the drums, teach youngsters in music programs and drums and I recently found a very nice music studio to be in, since then I’ve been doing some producing and recording.

How do you feel that this EP will be different from Sofia’s previous albums?
It’s Louder.

Which is your favorite of the four songs and why?
”King of the willow tree”.
It’s a simple and beautiful melody with lyrics that reminds me of my sami-childhood on the great plains of Lappland.

If this would be a soundtrack to a movie, which movie would that be?
”For a few dollars more”

What is your favorite part of producing music?
When your listen to a melody of something for the first time, you have so many directions, tempos and ways to begin doing things. I like the part when you just decide the way, based on guts instead of bad influences.

Tell us your favorite songs right now.
”Wichita Lineman” Tony Joe Whites version
”Gubben i lådan” Daniel Adams Ray

Thanks for the chat! We really look forward to hearing the result!
Thank you!