stand Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Sofia Talvik - Americana / Folk with Swedish Roots

September 4, 2011September 4, 2011

Thoughts about booking a tour

I’ve just started booking my US tour, starting in Florida in December, and first of all I have to say how amazed I am by these quadrillion of music venues. It seems like every café, restaurant, library and music lover hosts concerts. I’m also amazed how many of them are folk venues, or at least host folk music as well as other genres.

In Sweden nobody even knows what folk music is, here it’s fiddles and Orsa spelmän (if you all want to know what happened to ABBA after the 80’s). (I guess I’m not being totally fair because people here have heard Fleet Foxes and mostly the folk genre is called singer/songwriter here though I don’t think it’s totally right.)

Once in an interview the reporter asked me how I would define my music, and I answered “americana/folk”. When I read the published interview my answer was American funk. That says something about Sweden and folk music. But in the US, folk music almost seems like a cult. And here I am ordering feather hair extensions tuning my Luna guitar. I will probably fit right in!

So anyways, coming from a country that may be small but is really big when it comes to music export (again with the ABBA) I must say that Sweden is a puny country when it comes to live music. I was wondering the other day how many people would actually be confident enough to host a house concert here in Sweden. To actually let musicians and other people into their homes.. I mean what would the neighbors say???

So it’s really uplifting to see how many venues there are to chose from in the US. Unfortunately I’m not alone with this knowledge and I’m competing with so many bands. I just have to pray that I stand out in the crowd and that all these people will find it in their hearts to invite me to their homes, their cafés, libraries, galleries and what not.

And if you live in the US and want to host a house concert with yours truly, get in touch here http://book.sofiatalvik.com!

November 16, 2008August 25, 2011

New video released

So you thought my last music video was retro with its 50’s theme? Well you aint seen nothing yet! This is the new video for my single “Clown” and this time I decided I would do it all by myself. So I did all the make-up and styling and filmed it (yes I used a camera stand). Then I cut it and edited it. But I’m not ready to throw away Jonas’ fabulous producer skills just yet, I did have him help me creating the “burn-out” effect on the last few frames of the vid 😉

This is the first music video I’ve ever made and the second video I’ve made..ever (you’ve probably seen the behind the scenes video to “My James Dean”). I was inspired by old pictures and the creepy sense of the circus that the TV series “Carnivale” captured so well. The entire video was shot in my bedroom (but I won’t do a Pamela just yet), and the fab hat and stick was borrowed from my friend Theresia, they used to belong to her grandpa..

November 15, 2008August 25, 2011

CD of the week in Canada

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!

September 9, 2008September 17, 2012

Rave review from Ninthspace

I just got this lovely review from Ninthspace! Thank you so much! 🙂

“I guess, by the time a musician gets to their third album they know whether it’s going to work out for them. Not writing, recording and touring as a hobby, but embracing their talents and working with something that’s turned out to be innate to their existence. There are perhaps a handful of musicians that I could categorise in such a way.

With the release of Jonestown, Sofia Talvik easily gets over the idea of the difficult third album (younger sibling of the difficult second album) and turns out a collection that eclipses her first two. Opening track and lead single As Summers Pass recalls the past with its acoustic progressions, but the subsequent song My James Dean is astonishing.

Because it’s not what you’re expecting. Sure it has these synth pads that appear to hang over from its predecessor, but the guitar loops lower, more geared towards grooving. The best way I can describe it is the merging of the droning synth-rock of Stereolab and the sub-Spektor inclinations of El Perro del Mar with piano too.

Over the top of this comes Sofia’s outstanding vocals and a plaintiff declaration that I’m not that special. But she is.

January 5, 2007June 4, 2009

Pre-order available now!

Time is flying by and soon the new album will hit the stores with a BANG! If you want to be the first to get a copy, not have to stand in line and camp outside the record store to get it, 😉 you can order one here and it will arrive in your mailbox the day of the release. Bengans records ships (nearly) worldwide and the price is far cheaper than you will find anywhere else so if you didn’t get a pop-up when you cruised in here, just click the right upper corner on this page to order.