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’m two months into touring and it’s been a great experience so far. I have some really nice upcoming gigs that I wanted to share with you. These first few days of February I’m doing three shows in New Orleans, Louisiana. The first tonight at Neutral Ground Coffee House at 10pm, tomorrow February 2nd at Chickie Wah Wah at 8pm and on the 4th Fair Grinds Coffeehouse at 7.30pm. It’s my first time in New Orleans and all the shows are free admission so please come and see me!
Then I’m heading back north-east to Tuscaloosa where I have the privilege to be invited to to 2 concerts. One at the The Alabama Art Kitchen on February 10th, 7pm and one at the Bama Theatre on February 13th, 7.30pm. So if you want to give your sweetheart an early Valentines gift, taken him or her to one of the shows.
On Thursday the 16th I’ll be at The Listening Room Cafe in Nashville, TN doing an early show at 4.30pm.
So don’t miss out on these great opportunities to see me here in the States. You can see all my upcoming gigs here!
The live concerts are also the only place you’ll be able to pick up a signed copy of my new album “The Owls Are Not What They Seem” that was released January 31st.
So today I received the official invite to SxSW 2012! I already have a couple of gigs lined up but will soon update my schedule with the official showcase as well. See you at southby!!!
First of all I’d like to say thanks to everyone who’s come to my gigs and supported my tour so far!
I just had a wonderful gig at the Sentient Bean in Savannah. And last night I played at the Conundrum Music Hall in Columbia, SC. I’d like to send out a special thank you to Tom Law who booked me there and so kindly invited us to his home afterwards.
Here’s a little pic from Connect Savannah who did a really nice write up for my gig today and a video from last night.
Tomorrow we’re going to Hartsville and we continue Drivin’ & Dreaming…
"There's more to Swedish music than Björn, Benny and the girls..."
Too early? Well here in Florida, where the sun is shining every day and there’s no sign of any snow people have already started putting up their Christmas decorations. You guys know that my tradition is to release a Christmas song every year and I just thought I’d let you know that I will this year too!
This year I’m happy to announce that the charity connected to the song will be Action Aid. Action Aid works in 6 different areas: Hunger, Education, Women’s rights, Economic justice, Emergencies and conflict and HIV/AIDS.
The song will be released Advent second, or December 4th if you will. Keep checking in for updates!
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.
