p3 Popular

October 8, 2008

Sweden’s most popular radio show - p3 Populär invited me to their studio yesterday for an interview. If you missed it you can listen to it HERE! (only in Swedish)

Behind the scenes of ‘My James Dean’

October 6, 2008

As we were shooting the video for my single ‘My James Dean’ I was also busy shooting a ‘behind the scenes video’. You get to follow me around all day, from early morning getting ready with hair and make up ’til late night driving home. I would like to thank Åsa Östergren for the fab hairdo and make up, Swing i Swaben for letting us shoot the video there and ‘Sweet Emma and the Mood Swingers’ for looking awsome in the video. Do check out their own web site: http://www.sweetemma.se

I’ve tried to be extra nice to all of you who don’t understand Swedish so the second video is equipped with english subtitles. And when you’ve seen the ‘behind-video’ scroll down and to see how the video turned out!

Behind the scenes - Swedish version


Behind the scenes - English subtitles

Music video - My James Dean (produced by Jonas Westin)

“Talvik reels you in, plugs her warm, somber music straight into your frigid heart and turns up the heat”

October 5, 2008

Sweet words from Left of the dial:

Sofia Talvik- Jonestown (review)

While I was running around like an eight-year-old in a Toys R Us in Grant Park, Chicago this past August at Lollapalooza, ambience was the farthest musical feature from my mind. I wanted Bloc Party. I wanted the Go! Team. I wanted to dance and shout and make a scene.

But, contrary to my initial plans, the first morning of the show had me swaying in front of the Citi stage to the quiet croon of Sofia Talvik, tapping my foot lightly and thinking that maybe pretty love songs weren’t so bad after all.

And this soft-spoken Swede did nothing to dissuade me from this thought with her August release Jonestown.

I don’t know much about lady singers other than Collegian favorite Hop Along, Queen Ansleis, but Talvik’s breed of syrupy-sweet music of the folk-pop persuasion is something I can feel myself getting behind with every listen. Never riled, she carries through this album with a collected serenity usually reserved for librarians and Zen Masters.

“As summers pass” sets off the mood of Jonestown not with a jolt, but with the soft trickle of Talkvik’s lyrics. They don’t make you perk up in surprise, but rather creep up on you. You relax, you close your eyes, and then you realize that it’s the music that’s loosening up your shoulders.

One song flows to the next without much ceremony, but Talvik does so in a way that keeps the music-goer tuned in. You won’t be surprised with what’s coming up next, but you don’t have to wait during the two seconds of transition in concern that you aren’t going to like what you hear. If you make it to “My James Dean,” you’ll make it to “Prove Me Wrong” without noticing the passing of time between.

None of her songs pack a punch, but that’s not what Jonestown was created to do. From the horns in “Something Good” to the lilting piano in “Burning Fields,” Talvik reels you in, plugs her warm, somber music straight into your frigid heart and turns up the heat. Listeners emerge from Jonestown as if waking up from a trance, mildly disoriented but happy with the fuzzy memory of what just happened.

Though none of her songs break too much from the placid bubble she’s created around this album, “Clown” is the most rogue of the pack. With jumpy percussion and light trombone blats, Talvik takes on a more risqué demeanor as she describes a non-existent circus and chastises the man her man about acting like a clown. Well spoken, Talvik.

My only qualm with Jonestown is the eventual monotony of a dozen mellow tracks. This drag comes with any album that keeps the same place through its duration. Sometimes I’m ready throw in the towel and switch on some dance tunes halfway through the Cd. I’m not normally one for love songs, so this album can really slide me out of my comfort zone if I don’t put it on with an open mind.

Overall, Talvik’s delicate harmonics and light instrumentation keep a listener tuned in to Jonestown with a subtle interest. You’re so at ease by the time closer “Jonestown” fades out that it will take a minute or two before you even notice the album is finished. Jonestown is an album perfect for naps, writing papers, being in love and unwinding after a long day.

New video for ‘My James Dean’!

September 26, 2008

So, ‘My James Dean’ has been playing on your radio long enough and I know you’ve all been dying to see the video! And here it is!

Song: My James Dean (Jonestown 2008)
Artist: Sofia Talvik
Producer: Jonas Westin
Hair&Makeup: Åsa Östergren

Competition closed - here are the winners!

September 22, 2008

A big thank you to all that has competed for the collection of 13 albums by Swedish artists! It’s been a delight to read your motivations and we have chosen the winners. Congratulations to:

Jerry (US) - you have won the first prize, 13 wonderful albums (I’m really quite jealous myself!)
Niels (Germany) - you have won a signed copy of “Jonestown”
P (Austria) - you have won a signed copy of “Jonestown”

videos Competition closed - here are the winners!

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