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.
[quote] We had a full house of north Alabama bluegrass and folk music lovers and before it was over Sofia had them eating out of her hand. A standing ovation and encore followed. It was a great night and she is a great talent. [/quote]
Bob Keefe Music Director, Berkely Bob’s Coffee House, Cullman, AL
I’m two months into touring and it’s been a great experience so far. I have some really nice upcoming gigs that I wanted to share with you. These first few days of February I’m doing three shows in New Orleans, Louisiana. The first tonight at Neutral Ground Coffee House at 10pm, tomorrow February 2nd at Chickie Wah Wah at 8pm and on the 4th Fair Grinds Coffeehouse at 7.30pm. It’s my first time in New Orleans and all the shows are free admission so please come and see me!
Then I’m heading back north-east to Tuscaloosa where I have the privilege to be invited to to 2 concerts. One at the The Alabama Art Kitchen on February 10th, 7pm and one at the Bama Theatre on February 13th, 7.30pm. So if you want to give your sweetheart an early Valentines gift, taken him or her to one of the shows.
On Thursday the 16th I’ll be at The Listening Room Cafe in Nashville, TN doing an early show at 4.30pm.
So don’t miss out on these great opportunities to see me here in the States. You can see all my upcoming gigs here!
The live concerts are also the only place you’ll be able to pick up a signed copy of my new album “The Owls Are Not What They Seem” that was released January 31st.
We’ve been touring for little over a month now and gone from sunny Florida to cold North Carolina. I’ve overcome my fear of driving the RV and since Jonas fixed the cruise control I don’t mind driving at all. But there’s still one thing that scares me. What if the RV falls over. Every time we’re on a sharp curve on a highway exit I dread this. Even though Jonas says there’s no chance of that happening I still feel like it could happen.
After spending a few days in Savannah, GA (what a wonderful city!) I decided we had to buy bikes so we could bike whenever we came to a city like that. So we got one off Craig’s list and one from Walmart. For a few days the bikes were parked inside the RV and were taking up all the space we had. Because even if a bike is only $50 at Walmart, a bike rack for the RV is way more expensive. It doesn’t make sense at all, but we had to get one so we did. Only if we were to mount the bike rack we had to dismount the spare tire. So now instead of bikes we’ve had a hundred year old spare tire in the RV. No it didn’t fit into any of the storage compartments. Someone said we should put it under the bed but it’s old and smelly and had dead frogs and moss on it. So I don’t really think it’s going to be useful if we ever come to need a spare tire in the future.
The day after we got the bike rack and put the bikes on it we stayed in the parking lot behind the bar where I played in Charleston, SC and in the middle of the night I woke up of sounds and the RV rocking (you’d think it’s steady but it’s like a boat really). I looked out through the bedroom window and there was a guy trying to do something to the bikes, probably steal them. That’s not really something you want to wake up to. As soon as he saw my face in the window though he took off, but I couldn’t go back to sleep for hours and then I had nightmares the rest of the night.
Everything got better once we came to Wilmington, NC and stayed a night with our friend Majsan. Wilmington is such a beautiful town. Actually all the towns we’ve been to since Savannah has been pretty great. We’re in in Winston-Salem, NC now and it’s beautiful. We’ve biked around the city which doesn’t have much of a city center but lots of beautiful houses. The gigs have all been great too. Sometimes one would wish for a larger audience, but at least the people who’ve shown up have been there to listen to me and that’s what’s important after all. I was pretty disappointed that SxSW didn’t come through with an official invite this year. I’ve been incited the last three years of which I’ve played two. And every time I’ve had to pay for expensive plane tickets and hotels for me and the band. So when I’m finally here, doing a great tour, having a new CD out January 31st, they don’t invite me. But I still have a few unofficial SxSW shows so if you’re going to be there you can still see me play.
Me, Majsan and Spades in Wilmington, NC
Ok that’s all for now folks!
See you on the road
My international success is continuing! The Canadian online Music Zine Riveting riffs has just published a review of “Jonestown” and not a short one! They even graced “Jonestown” with the title “CD of the week”.
“Although she is Swedish, Sofia Talvik’s understanding of the English language and her ability to craft sensitive, emotive verses in English, should make it easier for her to realize a big breakthrough in the North American music market in 2009. She already has all the other tools, pretty, flawless vocals, and a knack for impeccable phrasing.”
Read the full review HERE!
Summer must be the worst time of the year to record an album.
My dicipline is running low when the sun is shining. One isn´t spoiled with warm weather here in the cold north so I´ve taken the opportunity to enjoy it while it lasts instead of sitting in my bunker.
Anyway, I haven´t been as lazy as you might think but I haven´t had any nice bits to put up for show here on the blog. Today´s been a really productive day, until I realized the battery in my guitar must be running out and some of the songs I´ve recorded today has an irritating loud buzz to them. It´s sad but I have to throw them away and record them again.
I´ve got a new lovely musician to add to my orchestra (isn´t myspace wonderful!), at least for this album. His name is Myles and he may be playing some (grand?) piano on some of the songs. Todays hit "Dominos" is just shipped off to get some beautiful piano instead of my strumming guitar, I can´t wait to hear what he´ll make of it.
That´s all for tonight folks, my shoulders are aching and I´m off to bed.
Enjoy a preview of "Dominos" here.
cheers Sofia
