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.
“Talvik’s versatility as a vocalist is at the core of the song, her voice sweet and clear when delicate and, when raised, capable of making the pulse race. (…) In the end, it’s only as the bucolic finale ‘You Bring Me Back’ elapses into silence that Talvik’s spell is finally broken, leaving an impulse to live through the heady, ravishing experience all over again. (…) A sumptuous set of songs to listen to with eyes shut tight and ears wide open.”
My “Florida Acoustic” Tour is over and it’s been great! I did 7 gigs in 7 days all of them outside. Going from one side of Sweden to the other I was so happy to be travelling with a Bose L1 system. Not only was it a dream to travel with as it’s so light and easy to demount but the comfort of knowing how your sound is going to be no matter where you perform is priceless. One of the biggest challenges you meet as a performer is coming to different venues and having to play with different sound systems of different quality so it was really relaxing to know that my music would sound the same no matter where I was. I met a great deal of lovely people and also had a steady audience online that followed my live stream.
A big thanks to all of you that listened live and online, to all the venues and of course Bose for making my tour a great deal easier! Here’s some videos and photos from the tour:
Sofia Talvik Live at Flyt, Stockholm Sweden
Sofia Talvik Live in Visby
Flying home from Visby
Sofia Talvik live at Fettmules Sommarfestival, Gnesta
People hanging out at Fettmules Sommarfestival
With Lena, the lovely founder of Fettmules Sommarfestival
Waiting for the gig
Hector the pug was visiting my gig at Landet
Jonas is setting up the Bose L1 system at Katalin, Uppsala
I love John Malkovich and one of my favorite movies are Dangerous Liaisons.
“Now, yes or no? It’s up to you, of course. I will merely confine myself to remarking that a “no” will be regarded as a declaration of war. A single word is all that’s required.” – Dangerous Liaisons
I hope you all enjoyed my latest album”Florida”! Now it will also be available in a acoustic version “Florida Acoustic”, where all the songs is recorded live with just me and the guitar (and piano on one song).
To celebrate the release of “Florida Acoustic” I’m doing a mini tour in Sweden, playing 7 acoustic gigs in 7 days. But don’t worry if you’re not in Sweden next week. All the concerts will be streamed online so you’ll be able to see them anyway! If you are in Sweden however you can catch me here:
Sunday 4/7 Effes, Gotland
Monday 5/7 TBA
Tuesday 6/7 Fettmules sommarfestival, Gnesta
Wednesday 7/7 Restaurang Landet, Stockholm
Thursday 8/7 Katalin, Uppsala
Friday 9/7 Flyt, Stockholm
Saturday 10/7 Papas, Båstad
check www.sofiatalvik.com/gigs for more specific info. All concerts are held at 8pm (kl 20) Swedish time.
Here’s a video from when we recorded “Florida Acoustic”:
We all know the Swedes can write a mean pop songs—but what about folk songs? Well, one artist is nonchalantly transferring the charm and fun found in most pop songs into sweet, acoustic twang. Sofia Talvik, brings bubbly blonde ambition to this raw and often quiet genre with a captivating breath of fresh air. After her 2008 Lollapalooza performance, Sofia became a force in the States and went back into the studio to record her fourth album and latest release, Florida.
With a focus on drums and electronic beats, Florida brings a sense of pop fun to an otherwise sensual and introspective album. Says Sophia, “Some songs are dark some are sunny, but all of them have a groove. I actually wanted the album to sound like what the intro to HBO’s True Blood looks like. I think the songs have the same kind of weirdness to them as those pictures, and that’s the American south to me.”
On top of bringing this interesting take to folk, Sophia manages her fan base using pop artist strategies. Fans can tweet at her to get her new single, she offers an acoustic version of her entire album for free with purchase of the full one and she even live streamed the recording the new album online. The new album is currently streaming on her Web site, but until it’s released, check out some tracks from her last album Jonestown below! Do you dig the pop/folk style?
