New Single Alert! Circle of Destruction is released today!

I’m so excited to present the first single from my new album “Center of the Universe” which will be released this Fall. The first single is called “Circle of Destruction”.

We were joking in the studio when we were recording this song that it is Folk Metal, because the title – Circle of Destruction – sounds like a metal song more than a Folk/Americana/bluegrass piece. But it’s not Folk Metal, so don’t worry. I wrote the song in the first days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but it’s also inspired by non war immigration, as well as a search for truth in a society that is more information based than fact based.

We recorded the song (and album) in the most peaceful place! Imagine yourself in a small rural village in Sweden. White-trimmed wooden houses that date back several hundred years are tucked in between the pines and birch tees next to the quiet lake where the sunlight glitters like gold on the gentle ripple. All around you, you can hear the buzzing of bumblebees, birds singing in the trees, and the sheep are grazing in a nearby pasture, surrounded by a hand tied willow fence. You can imagine that all that magic seeped into the recordings (and some of the bird song too).

With a group of carefully selected musicians; Peyton Clifford and Drake Duffer on accordion, guitar, and mandolin (both hailing from North Carolina) and Janne Manninen on bass (from Sweden), we built up a studio in the living room of one of the old houses. I’m so happy with how the album is turning out and I hope you will like it too!

If you want to support my tour, and Lil’Chief’s breakdowns (yes we already had to change the front brakes) please consider paying something for the single – add your own number what you think it is worth, you can do this on Bandcamp.

Get it here:

New music video for Pharaohs and Friends

I started my U.S Spring Tour in New Mexico. New Mexico’s slogan is “Land of enchantment”, and you can see why in this video that we just released. I filmed it in White Sands National Monument, and it was just premiered by Glide Magazine. Here’s what they say about it:

 “A song that encourages escape amidst these unthinkable days. Talvik sings with a touch of the ethereal and offers intimate folk, mixing shades of Joni Mitchell and Tori Amos within a comfortable emotive package.

Paws of a Bear Spring Tour on the road!

The 2020 Spring tour, aptly named after my new album “Paws of a Bear”, has just begun! Last night we did a soft start in Albuquerque, NM and from here the tour will take us through Texas to SxSW and a lot of other fun concert venues, through LA, MS, AL and down to Florida.

Lil’Chief is getting some updates so we don’t wake up on the hood of the car!

Lil’Chief is getting some updates too. From previous owners he had some water leaks which has made the floor in the cab-over a bit wobbly. White Trash MacGyver has spent the last few days ripping it out and building new support and floor, with the help of our generous hosts Eric and Wendy Bardrof, also photographers extraordinaire. When you see Wendy’s pic you realize why New Mexico’s slogan is “Land of enchantment”.

Land of enchantment – photo by Wendy Bardrof

I’m also very excited to have my pedal steel genius Tim Fleming with me for select shows in Texas. He will join me from Dallas to SxSW and Houston.

Hope to see you on the road!

An alternative Christmas playlist

Are you a fan of the old Dean Martin Christmas songs? I am too. I think it adds to the Christmas mood … for about a day or two, and then I want to hear something else, something christmassy, but in a different style. So I put together a Spotify playlist with some of my favorite alternative Christmas folk songs, a mix of Calexico, Neko Case, Sufjan Stevens … Just in case you want to mix up your Dean Martin with something more contemporary. Feel free to subscribe to the list and share it with your friends. And have a Folky Christmas!

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And here’s a T-shirt to go with the music! Go HERE to order! (Also available as cups, pillows, totes etc)

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