studio Archives - Page 3 of 6 - Sofia Talvik - Americana / Folk with Swedish Roots

October 27, 2011

E – Update #6

Marcus and Sofia playing live. Photo: Jonny Andersson

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, 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.

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.

October 21, 2011

E – Update #4

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!)

Click here to listen: Sofia Talvik – If I Had a Man

October 16, 2011October 16, 2011

E – Update #3

Here’s a video from the studio when we recorded the vocals for “7 Miles Wide” Marcus has recorded a bunch of guitars and Joakim Lundgren has added drums as well. You’ll also get to hear an exclusive preview of the finished version of the song at the end of the video featuring Pontus Borg on vocals.

Thanks for helping out to fund this last EP in the L.O.V.E saga. Go here to help us finish the EP so we can release it on November 1st as planned.

August 21, 2011August 21, 2011

V – Update #6

Janne is mastering the new EP ‘V – Part Three of L.O.V.E’ and I joined him in the studio. I was also told I’ll never be a drummer, but we’ll see about that mr Joakim …

We’re almost at 100% now so please help me raise the few bucks that are left. Go HERE to pledge!
‘V – Part Three of L.O.V.E’ will be released September 1st!

August 9, 2011August 15, 2011

Interview with G.A.I.N

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!