Interview with G.A.I.N

'A - Part Two of H.A.T.E'
'A - Part Two of H.A.T.E'
'A - Part Two of H.A.T.E'

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!

Pledge for ‘V – Part Three of L.O.V.E’

V - Cover

It’s been amazing that I have received so much help, support and interest from my fans during the production of my two latest EPs. Thanks to YOU I have been able to record and release them, and for that I am eternally grateful!

Now it’s time for me to start making part three of the L.O.V.E saga and I need your help again. This time it will be a little bit different. For one I’m using Bandcamp instead of Pledgemusic and this time I have affixed packages to make it easier for you to choose your level of involvement. Like before, you’re very welcome to send me an email or comment below if you feel that something is missing amongst the items available to pledge for and I’ll be happy to include it. You will still receive updates from the project such as blogs, pics and videos.

The interesting thing about this project is that I have four different producers, the four guys that also happen to be in my backing band. They are all very talanted but they all have very different taste in music and I thought it would be interesting to see how they interpreted my songs if I gave them the chance.  ‘L’ was produced by my cello player Christian Hörgren and ‘O’ by my drummer Joakim Lundgren. We’re now down to ‘V’ and this time it’s my bass player Janne Manninen who produces the EP. His roots are more dance and electronica than the others and this EP will be very different from all my other stuff. But it’s still me doing the vocals and guitar and it’s all my songs, just in a new exciting suit.

So, go and check out the new design on the tees and posters and start choosing your pledge package. Go to the pledge site for more information about the different items and how to pledge. Thanks again for helping me out!

V - Cover
V - Cover

Digital Album Sale

Summer Sale!

I’m having a digital album sale until the end of the summer of all my albums!
You have the option to name your own price on the albums, the lowest bid is however 1€.

All albums are available in a variety of formats, including mp3 (320k, VBR), Ogg Vorbis, Apple Lossless, FLAC and AAC (aka .m4a or iTunes store format).

Summer Sale!
Summer Sale!

Listen / Buy / Download here: http://music.sofiatalvik.com/

I’m also hoping that you are having a great summer.
I’ve been down in a dark recording studio most of the summer working on “V – Part Three of L.O.V.E”, the third EP in the L.O.V.E saga. This time I’m going from a pop sound towards a more pop-electronica sound.Expect something completely different and beautiful in a few months. I’m starting the pledge towards the final financing of the EP in next week.

Sometimes I wish I had a band

Sofia Talvik and her band
Sofia Talvik and her band
me and my band

Sometimes I wish I had a band. Well I do have a band and I love them to bits, but we are not a band. They are my boys and I am their artist. They are my friends but they are not my confidants. Sometimes, when I see things like this lovely pledge by  My Bubba and Mi, I wish I had a band, where everyone were equals. Where we planned together and fought together. Where we were annoyed at critics and happy for our music together. Sometimes I feel like it’s just me, and they are just tagging along for the ride.

I’ve tried a couple of times making my band into my band. At first I gave them a name, The Tallboys, so that they would feel like a band and not just musicians backing up a singer/songwriter. It didn’t really work, but it doesn’t matter because now, 6 years down the road, they’re still with me and I don’t think any of them feel like just a back up musician anymore. It’s probably for the best, as I can be quite bossy and stubborn and tend to decide everything but sometimes I feel I’m struggling all alone. Like last year when we were on tour and there were just so many things that were going wrong, and I felt like I couldn’t tell them and had to pretend that everything was alright so we wouldn’t all be depressed and worried.

This year my guys are showing their skills as more than musicians playing behind me. They are each producing an EP for me in my 4 piece L.O.V.E saga. I wonder if they will feel as protective about their EPs as I do when I release an album. I wonder if they know just how much I appreciate and love them. Even if they’ll never be my band.

“L” is here! Happy Valentine’s!

Sofia Talvik "L - part one of L.O.V.E"

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I’m so happy to announce that we are releasing “L – Part One of L.O.V.E” – the first of four EPs in the L.O.V.E saga today on Valentine’s Day!

First of all I would like to say thank you to all my fans who have made this EP possible by taking part of the production through pledgemusic.com. It’s been great having you along on the journey and I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have.

DOWNLOAD “L – Part One of L.O.V.E” HERE!

Here’s some pictures of the unique merch you guys ordered, all of it custom made for the release. I’ve been busy as a bee the last couple of days manufacturing all the goodies that will be sent to you this week. All pledgers also get the digital download today in your inbox!

Custom made EPs by Sofia Talvik
The only physical copies were the preordered ones
Custom made EPs by Sofia Talvik
... and I made all the covers by hand as you can see here!
Pär Henriksson by Sofia Talvik, Acrylic on canvas
Pär pledged for "I will paint your portrait" and this is how it turned out, Acrylic on canvas
... as did Oliver, Acrylic on panneau
Randy by Sofia Talvik, Acrylic on Panneau
..and the last one to pledge for a portrait was Randy
Screen printed "L"-tshirt
I've screen printed each and every one of the tshirts
Screen printed posters by Sofia Talvik
I also screen printed 8 uniqe posters in red, black and gold
Sofia Talvik "L - part one of L.O.V.E"
And here's the cover art