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.
Merry Christmas! Today us Swedes celebrate Christmas but since some of you celebrate on the 25th this is just the next to last window in my Xmas Calendar. So why not combine a very Swedish Christmas song with a very American instrument. In today’s window I’m singing and playing “Strålande Jul” on a mountain dulcimer I got earlier this year. I’ve never really played the dulcimer before but I thought it had quite a Christmassy kind of sound.
I’ve never been much of a cover singer, but if you followed me for a while you know I sometimes try. So now that it’s coming on Christmas so to say 😉 I thought I’d post this live recording of me singing Joni Mitchell’s song “River”. Next year I will release a live album, so this is like a little taste of what’s to come. Enjoy!
HoHoHo! Two days ago you got a download of mine and Sophie Rimheden‘s “Xmas on the Dance floor“. Today we give you a brand new version of “Rudolf”. And it’s in Swedish of course :). Talented Sophie has produced this disco version of “Rudolf” and I’m singing the lead. So get your ass off the couch and shake it baby!
Credits:
Music, Production and backing vocals: Sophie Rimheden
Vocals: Sofia Talvik
Mix and Master: Sophie Rimheden
Coverart: Sofia Talvik
On my US tour I’ve had the privilige to play with some really talanted people. One of them is Michelle Lewis, a singer/songwriter based in Boston, MA and today’s window is a special greeting from Michelle to all of you. This is a video of Michelle singing “In The Bleak Midwinter”. Michelle’s albums, the perfect gift to anyone who already has everything, are available at http://michellelewismusic.com/wordpress/store/. If you want to enjoy Michelle’s beautiful music in your home, she’s also taking requests for house concerts for 2013. You can contact her through her website http://michellelewismusic.com/.
“…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.