April artist of the month!

Artist of the month at Hotel Cafe Junkie
Artist of the month at Hotel Cafe Junkie
Artist of the month at Hotel Cafe Junkie

LA music blog Hotel Cafe Junkie (for you who don’t know this Hotel Cafe is a singer/songwriter concert series and one of the best music venues in LA) just listed me as their April artist of the month.

“She’s got a sweet sounding voice and seems to use a variety of instruments in her music. Sometimes there are some beautiful strings in the background that just fill out the sound with amazingness.”

Hotel Cafe Junkie likes good original music and, although not affiliated with the actual venue, I’m super excited to be appointed artist of the month! Thank you!

Live review from Van Dykes, FL

[quote] As the music director of the Van Dyke Cafe in Miami Beach, I have hosted thousands of shows and performers. I must admit the show that Sofia performed at the club last month was one of the most memorable and enjoyable shows we have ever done. Her melodious voice, angelic tone and elegant but relaxed phrasing combined with great guitar playing and amazing songwriting made her show a top hit with our fans and staff. [/quote]

Randy Singer, Van Dyke Music director, Miami, FL

New album pre-order!

The Owls Are Not What They Seem
The Owls Are Not What They Seem
The Owls Are Not What They Seem

“…Not dread but a connection with our past is what we feel, a thread running back to the artless creatures we once were when we first heard the oboe-like notes from the Great Horned Owl. In Paleolithic times, we suspected omens in its voice, heard in it questions we were unable to articulate, but which have stayed within us, incomplete and taunting. We are certain that ancient, taloned bird sees what we do not, knows what we never will. And some night, silent as a gliding feather, its immensity will engulf us at fireside to tell us things we want to know as well as those we don’t. In the shadowed forest we’re pulled by that lurking and alluring ghost and we are enthralled.” Welcome to Twin Peaks: Access Guide to the Town

2011 was a busy year for me. I worked hard to get an artist visa to the US, preparing for a tour that might go on for as long as two years. At the same time I wrote and recorded a new album. Now that I’ve landed in my tour in the US it’s also time for my new album to land. “The Owls Are Not What They Seem” is a collection of 12 new songs. My musical journey started out in 2004 when I recorded Blue Moon and me and my musicians all gathered in a basement studio in Stockholm recording acoustically and almost all the instruments at the same time. After that I tried a more common way of recording in layers, adding instruments upon instruments. For my third album I hired a producer, Tobias Fröberg and for my fourth album Florida i experimented with a bigger soundscape with more drums than I had ever used before.

For “The Owls Are Not What They Seem” I went back to basics. After having done an acoustic solo tour for my album Florida Acoustic in 2010 I felt I was in my best element when I was playing and singing at the same time without the restrains of headphones and click-tracks. So I decided to make an ablum that was the essence of that me. Just something I could record in my bedroom without the pressure of a big production, time and opinions from others. All the songs on “The Owls Are Not What They Seem” are recorded that way. Me – playing and singing at the same time, then sparsely adding other instruments to enhance and highlight where I thought it was needed.  My goal was to keep it down and make an acoustic album with a live, organic feel to it. I had no interest in changing the world or inventing something new. I just wanted to make a beautiful acoustic album. And here it is: “The Owls Are Not What They Seem

You can now pre-order the album here. You’ll get a free track straight away. Physical signed albums will only be available through my website until the release. I also have two special guests on the album; Martin Hederos is playing the piano on “Nothing quite so gentle” and Pontus Borg has lent his voice to “7 miles wide”. Please hit the share button to tell all your friends.

Shoot me with your Winter Canon

Winter Canon by Sofia Talvik

My annual Xmas single is released and I’ve already gotten some great response to it. It’s funny though how my little pun with the cover and the title seemed to pass people by 🙂 The song is written in a manner that is called “canon” in musical terms. Wiki explains the canon like this: In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e.g., quarter rest, one measure, etc.).

But as it sounds just like cannon, I put a little cannon shooting snowflakes on the cover.

Winter Canon by Sofia TalvikPost
Winter Canon by Sofia Talvik

Here’s some links to the reviews that’s out so far:

Sofia returns to her Indie folk pop roots on a very pretty down-tempo number with beautiful imagery of the season.  It’s entitled “Winter Canon”, which is a cute title but doesn’t really express how lovely the song actually is.  About the only thing wrong with this single is that Sofia didn’t include her picture on the cover art.
(read more at) Stubby’s house of Christmas

She’s definitely one of the finest Swedish singer-songwriter, and there are doubtlessly many good ones. This year’s song is called Winter Canon and it matches the expectations easily. Her soft, bright voice makes this tune really special.
(read more at) Lie in the Sound

“Winter Canon” has a very old-fashioned American Christmas feel to it….I recommend giving it a listen, downloading it and going out of your way to do something for someone else.
(read more at) The Useless Critic

Get the single for free here!