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've had a busy week listening to various adds to the album, we've finished strings and piano and it's time for a little sample again.
Erik Jansson has been more than creative arranging some beautiful string orchestras for a couple of the songs. Erik also works with Jay Jay Johanson and has been a part of Jay Jay's set for many years now. And Jozsef has added a finishing touch to his amazing piano. It has all come together.
Here's a beautiful sample of their work conjoined. Never mind the irritating buzzing noice that my computer added when I bounced the song to mp3. I promise it won't be there on the album 😉
It’s been a hectic week to say the least. I decided to skip one of the songs for the album (as everybody thought it was horrible except me, haha) and had to choose and record a new one. I decided for yet another song with the word “shoe” in the lyrics and probably will have to rename the entire album to “shoes” now 🙂 .We decided not to put Baby, eeerr I mean Anders, in the corner anymore (as he was forced to be there during the recordings of the last album, that studio simply wasn’t big enough for him and his bass) so we even gave him his own room this time. Check out the video here:
[flv:/video/recordingbass.flv 320 240]
I’m nothing but truly impressed of the way he nailed all these songs in just six hours. We rehearsed a few of them for the gig at Landet and the radio gig last week but there were several he never heard before and he did brilliantly! Even the song “Holding your hand” which he renamed “the Zappa-song” because of all the half times hidden in it. Being unrehearsed may not be the ultimate way of doing it but I must say it does add a kind of nerv that you don’t get if you know the songs too well.
Anyway, next week we’ll be recording Marcus and his guitars, yep he’ll be doing both acustic and electric this time. And I’ll record the last song for the album (no shoes in that one), which I have to do in the studio where we recorded the bass, because I have to play and sing at the same time.
The studioMe as the true technician.. press "rec" press "stop"... Jonas, behind the camera, did all the real work.No wonder we had to give Anders a bigger room, we couldn't even fit him into one frame...It's a kind of magic: the other halft of AndersNow here's the big picture! With a bit of a distance we managed to get all of him. Isn't it beautiful, well it sure sounds beautiful!
Sometimes when you're working on something creative, like I'm working on my album now, you get alot of other creative ideas.
Isn't it typical, just as I decided which songs to have on the album, I get so inspired I write a new song that I just have to add as well. Not that I'm complaining, a moment of inspiration is always welcome and wonderful. Last night it ended up with this song:
This is my daily routine: come home from work, embark myself in my bedroom studio and play until my fingers bleed.
It gets really hot in there as well as I have to have all windows and doors closed. So today I had to cut off a pair of nylon stockings, make little holes for my fingers and use it as a glove on my left hand because my palm was so damp and I couldn´t change the chords fast enough and kept getting stuck. Not very stylish I tell you, but it worked!
Anyway, I feel rather content with todays recording even though I kept getting cramps in my hands and my fingertips are kind of sore now
I decided to post a little sample of today´s recording of "It´s silly now". I haven´t begun recording the band yet so it´s just me so far. Maybe I´ll add new versions later and you can all hear how the song evolves with more instruments.
