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.
I can’t believe we’re down to the last EP in the L.O.V.E saga. In just over a month “E – Part Four of L.O.V.E” will be released and today we’re starting up the pledge for the final EP. Last but not least my guitarist Marcus Högquist is making his debut as a producer. Marcus has played in my band since 2004 and know all there is to know about my music. He’s the most talented guitarist I ever met and I’m sure he’ll be just as talented when it comes to producing.
Another great piece of news is that I have written a duet for the EP. It’s called “7 miles wide“ and Swedish artist Pontus Borg will be singing the song with me on the EP. You might have heard Pontus sing in the Langely commercial which is running on Swedish TV right now. You can have a listen to his awesome song “Free” here!
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.
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!
G.A.I.N is recording 'A - Part Two of H.A.T.E'
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
I played at the dinner that A&R Worldwide and the Swedish Consulate held yesterday. (A big thank you to the organizers for having me, it was a great honour!) It was nothing like I had expected. I thought it was going to be more of a networking thing, where people would mingle and talk while I stood in a corner singing. Instead there were a hundred seated people, totally quiet, just looking at me. I got so nervous I thought my knees would shake me off the planet! But I got through it and then Kristin, Peter and Warren took me to the Troubador.
I’m going home today so I’m having my last american sandwich…
…which is basically a sandwich monster. I bought one yeaterday, so this is actually the left over half of that one. I can’t imagine why they want to overstuff their sandwiches like this.
I’m actually so glad I’m going home today. First of all since I get to go home to Jonas, second because my ears hurt from all the english. It gets kind of intense after a while, and I think the phrases I’ve used most during these two weeks have been:
“That’s cool”
“That’s awsome”
“That’s a good thing”
and of course “Thank you so much” which I am also saying now to you guys for following my tour blog. I hope you got to see one of my showcases in Austin, where I had my lovely band with me (I missed you guys so much yesterday). Good by America!
Hey! This Friday, between 10.30 and 11.00 am, I'm guesting the p4 radio show Hasse & Ylva. Unfortunately I won't be doing any singing but I will be talking , so don't miss it hehe.
Update: Listen to the show here. (Starts 5mins in after the news.)
, so don't miss it hehe.