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.
Happy November 1st everyone! Today is the day when the L.O.V.E saga has become complete! “E – Part Four of L.O.V.E” is now available on iTunes, Amazon and all the other places where you like to buy good music!
I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me fund this EP and all the other EPs in the L.O.V.E saga. It’s been a great experience and I could never have guessed that I had fans like you!
This week will be filled with making T-shirts, Posters, CDs and stuff for all you guys. I hope to get all the things sent out by the end of the week. Again – thank you so much for being a part of this journey!
I’m so happy to announce that we met our goal in the pledge and thanks to all of you who pledged we will be able to release the last part of L.O.V.E next week. If you haven’t pledged you can still pre-order the physical CD, T-shirts and other goods up till November 1st. After that the EP will only be available as a digital download.
For this update I thought we’d grill the producer a little bit, so I tied him to his amplifier and made him answer all these questions…
Marcus Högquist recording some guitar
Marcus Högquist, you are the producer of “E – Part Four of L.O.V.E” and you are also the guitarist in Sofia’s band since many years, how do you think this recording was different than the others you’ve made with Sofia? More guitars 🙂 The previous recordings I´ve done with Sofia have all been different from each other. For example, the first one we recorded almost completely live with just two microphones. All of us sitting in the same room and playing together. And for that one we used mostly acoustic instruments. For the following records we have been doing more and more overdubs, recorded separetly and used more electronic sounds. This time I’ve tried to capture the essence of Sofia’s songs and let them guide me toward where I was going. Maybe in some cases I’ve put them in a slightly new context, soundwise.
What’s your favorite song on the EP and why? I like them all. But if I have to pick just one I’d say If I had a man. I’m really pleased with how it came out.
If you would describe this EP as the love child of two bands/artists, which would that be? John McEnroe and Mats Wilander 😉
If you would have had an unlimited budget, is there anything you would have done differently? I think I would have recorded the songs live with the band in a big fancy studio somewhere in the countryside. We would stay there for a few days and be totally focused on making the best record ever. For relaxation between the sessions some of us would play some tennis, Christian would go fishing in the lake just outside the studio and Sofia would probably get a nice massage.
How come you chose “Lower Case Letters” as your re-make song? Actually the new rhythm feel of that song came out of a mistake during a rehearsal that Sofia and I where doing for a promotion tour a few years ago. So for the following tour we decided to stick with that new rhythm arrangement and we did on our last US tour with the band as well. Then, when I was asked to pick an old song for this recording I just thougt it would be nice to record it that way.
Marcus and Sofia playing live. Photo: Jonny Andersson
What was your biggest challenge as a producer? Because I recorded a lot of the stuff myself, I’d say being the the producer and the musician at the same time.
Exactly how many guitar tracks can we expect on “E – Part Four of L.O.V.E” ? 😉 Billions!!!
What’s your best words of wisdom when producing an album? Keep an open mind. It might be good to have a plan for how you want the songs to sound. But be open for new ideas during the process and let them inspire you.
Thanks Marcus! We look forward to hearing your awesome creation!
“E – Part Four of L.O.V.E” is being released November 1st.
We’re down to the final week before “E – Part Four of L.O.V.E” is about to released, which means that this is you last chance to pre-order a CD, T-shirt or any of the other items on the pledge site.
All the items are hand made by me and are exclusive to this EP, meaning they will only be available for pre-order and can’t be purchased after the release. All the CDs have hand made covers and are signed as well. The posters are signed and numbered.
You’ve heard some previews of the songs and I hope you like them. Today I’m posting a little video blog from when we’re mixing the song Lower Case Letters. As you know my producers have each chosen one of my previously released songs to make a re-make of and Marcus chose Lower Case Letters from the album Jonestown.
As usual you’ll get to hear a preview of the finished song at the end of the video.
We caught a few moments with Chris LeMon from Badmouth to hear what his thoughts about their new EP “T – Part Three of H.A.T.E” are. “T – Part Three of H.A.T.E” will be released November 1st and you can pre-listen and pre-order it here!
Badmouth, Photo by Michael Johansson
Hi Badmouth! You’re making “T – Part Three of H.A.T.E” would you start by telling us a little bit about your music and your band? Badmouth started 4 years ago, we released our debut album in 2008 and our second album this summer, which is produced by Chips Kiesbye. When we got the offer to do this EP we just couldn’t resist, such a cool thing to be part of, so even though we just released the album we called Chips and he was up for it … Badmouth is rock’n’roll, its about having a good time, we are having a great time and we want the crowd to smile as they see us live, its all about the love for music …
You’re usually writing your own songs, so what did you think was the hardest part of making Sofia’s songs feel like your own? Actually nothing was hard … haha … It’s great songs! The hardest one was “To watch the bridges burn” we had a different version going first but it was just strange … haha … but then we tried the way it is now and it sounds great! So it has only been a lot of fun!
T - Part Three of H.A.T.E
Which one are you most happy with and why? I guess it depends who you ask in the band, for me personally I would say Jonestown, I think the arrangement turned out great and it is truly a great song, but I also think Bridges turned out great in a different way, to me its a radio hit! I think it’s cool that all four songs turned out so different from each other so I would say I am really happy about all four ...
Rumor has it you’re on tour with Gilby Clarke from Guns & Roses, how did that come about? Totally true, actually sitting in the tour bus right now on our way to the last show, it’s been a great tour, 8 shows in Sweden … Well, I also work as a booking agent and I booked this tour and Gilby needed a band and it wasn’t hard for me to suggest the best band to him 😉
Chris LeMon and Vinnie Sharp from Badmouth with Gilby Clarke
What’s your all time favorite tour memory? There’s a lot, and some things that shouldn’t be mentioned here 😉 But right now I would say this tour, to be on a stage with Gilby Clarke is truly a dream come true!
Making rock music out of singer/songwriter tunes isn’t something bands do every day. What did you think about the experience and would you do it again? I would love to do it again, this shows that good songs are good songs no matter which category you place them in … We actually said that if this EP becomes a hit we will have Sofia write our next album! 😉
What’s your recipe for success? Be yourself and love what you do!
What’s in store for you this fall? Well, the release of the EP is the next thing and we have a release party for it in Stockholm on November 4th at RoQ. As soon as we are back from the road we will start planning the next tour, the main goal is to play live as much as possible and get out the word of BADMOUTH!
Thanks for chatting with us, can you tell us your three favorite songs right now? Thank you! Wow that’s difficult but right now I would say “Jonestown”, “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” (Badmouth) and “Tijuana Jail” (Gilby Clarke)
Guys! It’s just over a week left until we have to finish “E – Part Four of L.O.V.E” and get it out to you in all the corners of the world. But I need you to help me get to the goal of the pledge. It’s just 30% more and we’re there. So go and support your favorite artist (me!) today!!
This little video blog is from the studio when we recorded vocals for my song “If I had a man”. You’ll also get to hear an exclusive preview of the finished song. How great is that?! Enjoy! (and pledge here!)
