The Owls Are Not What They Seem

Today I’m releasing my 5th album “The Owls Are Not What They Seem”. Thank you everyone who pre-ordered the CD and to all my fans who pledged for the four EPs in L.O.V.E that preceded this album. (To make it clear for those of you who haven’t heard the EPs – this is a totally different production.)

I’m shipping all of the pre-ordered signed albums today. You who have pre-ordered will also get your download codes today. And for you who missed out on the physical release here’s some links to where you can listen. You will still be able to listen and purchase a download in any format you prefer here: Sofia’s music store.

If you’d rather go through the middle man, you can listen and purchase a download here (and probably a bunch of other online stores too):

Spotify
CDbaby
Amazon
iTunes (please rate and write something here if you like it)

Here’s a live video of one of the songs from the album performed at Moonlight on the Mountain in Birmingham, AL on my Drivin’ & Dreaming tour that I’m currently doing in the US.

Sofia Talvik live - photo by Virdeo Puro

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!!!

Atlanta Retro writes about my music, my upcoming show at the Drunken Unicorn and does an interview as well. Read it all here!

Atlanta Retro appoints Sofia Talvik Kool Kat of the week!

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.

Sofia Talvik live at Fresh Brewed Coffee House

Last night I played at the Fresh Brewed Coffee House in Myrtle Beach, SC and when they heard that I had a few days off they kindly invited me to do another show on Monday January 9th. So around 5.30pm I’ll play some songs in the front room.

If you can’t catch me in Myrtle Beach you might want to try South Port, NC where I’m playing January 11th at the Playhouse 211.

Check out info about all my upcoming gigs here: http://sofiatalvik.com/gigs

I also did a house concert in Hartsville the other day. I think house concerts are the best because they’re so intimate and you get to meet so wonderful people. It’s really easy to host a house concert too and I’ll come and play in your living room if you want to. Here’s some simple guidelines for how you host a house concert: how to throw a house concert

If you decide this is something you would like to do; check out my concert schedule to see when your state is listed and then go here to contact me.

Here’s some pics from the house concert in Hartsville.

Sofia Talvik live at Artsville House Concerts

Nice ambience at Derrick's house

Hosting a house concert is an awesome way to experience music in your own home

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..."

Click image to read!

Connect Savannah

Playing live at Stardust Video and Coffee in Orlando, FL

Happy New Year!

This has been a great year with lots of stuff happening. I made 4 EP albums with 4 different producers, the wonderful guys in my backing band. And all of you chipped in and funded the releases so that we were able to finish the project. 4 ass-kicking metal bands did 4 ass-kicking cover albums of my EPs and one of them actually released a video too (or rather will release in a few days so I’m cheating by telling you now) Badmouth made a video of their cover of my song “To watch the bridges burn”, check it out here!

Throughout the year I have worked hard to get an artist visa to the US, and thanks again to my wonderful fans who helped out with house concert contracts and letters of recommendation I finally got my visa and packed my things and went to Florida in November. In December my big “Drivin’ & Dreaming tour” took off and I’ve now been all around Florida playing in different venues. One unexpected thing that I experienced is that I had at least a few loyal fans show up for every gig. I didn’t know there’s be so many of you!

Throughout the tour we’ve had the RV break down and fixed, nothing major yet thank God. We’ve been invited to have dinner with Greg and Michelle of The Refinery, Tampa, for southern shrimps and grits at Sian and Otis’ in St Petes and to stay the night in a really cool A frame cottage with Doris in Melrose to mention a few of all the lovely people we’ve encountered along the way.

It’s now time to say good bye to Florida and head up to South Carolina and Georgia for January. Many new experiences are to come, many new shows to be played. We’re heading into new states and a new year. In January my new album “The Owls Are Not What They Seem” will be released and I hope you will continue to support my tour as I go through America in my old RV – Drivin’ and Dreaming.

Happy New 2012

/Sofia

Sofia Talvik live in Florida and online. Photo: Virdeo Puro

Visit Florida interactively to see a live show with Sofia Talvik.

Every once in a while Sofia Talvik will treat her fans to a special live broadcast from a scenic place along the road of her Drivin’ & Dreaming tour.

If you haven’t had a chance to come to any of the concerts on the tour, or if you’d just like to see Sofia live again, sign in to view an exclusive concert on-line on December 21st, time: 2pm EST.

Just log on to your computer and go HERE.

You can pay what you will, but the suggested ticket price is 5 dollars. You can also tip during the gig, one token is 10 cents.

Don’t miss out on this special gig – available to everyone all over the world!

Winter Canon by Sofia Talvik

Every year I release a free Christmas single and today at Advent second it’s up for grabs. As usual I want to urge people to do a good deed instead of paying me money for the single. It’s my Christmas gift to you and I hope you will pay it forward. This year I’m happy to be working with ActionAid as my choice of charity.

Read all about it and download it here!

Thanks to Martin Q Larsson and Joakim Lundgren for playing on the song! I hope you all like it.

Thanks to the Broward Folk Club for inviting me and to everyone who came to listen!

In Orlando before the gig

Sofia Talvik at the Broward Folk Club in Davie, FL

Sofia Talvik and Len Perry after the gig

E - Part Four of H.A.T.E by Akribi

Today is the day when the L.O.V.E & H.A.T.E saga has reached it’s end as “E – Part Four of H.A.T.E” is released. I’m extra happy to see that the last metal band in this project has a female singer, and that it doesn’t make it one bit less hard rock than the other EPs.

You can now listen to and buy “E – Part Four of H.A.T.E” by Akribi on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon and all your other favorite online stores. You can also stream (and buy) the entire EP here!

Thank you to all who have participated in the project through pledging, and to all the great metal bands who worked hard to make my songs their own. I’m blown away by they wonderful job they’ve done and I can’t wait to hear more from all of them!

Akribi photo by Alexa Andersson

Drivin' & Dreaming

In just a week my US tour begins. December is already packed with gigs all over the Sunshine State (Florida). I mean it’s the place to be when my home country is all dark and cold, right! So I packed my bags and flew over the ocean and here I am. I just bought an RV that I’m fixing up so I can have somewhere to lay my hat on the road. It’s an old Gulfstream Conquest, and it turned out to be a bit more work that I had hoped for. But now that we tore most of the interior out, we can start putting things in and hopefully we’ll be able to live in it a week from now (termites and water leaks hopefully gone).

The first gig is at the Broward Folk Club at Your big picture Café in Davie, December 2nd. Then we’ll head back to Orlando and work our way from there down the west coast and then up the east coast. You can find all information about dates and venues HERE! If you are interested in hosting a house concert or have a venue that you would like me to play at, please contact me here!

I hope to see you on the road!

xo Sofia

Me in front of a huge Christmas tree in Florida

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!

Listen here to all the EPs

The last part of the H.A.T.E saga is coming to en end. Swedish rockers Akribi is releasing the EP “E – Part Four of H.A.T.E” December 1st and a year of music has gone by. I’ve had such a great time hearing my songs in new suits. First with all the L.O.V.E EPs which were each produced by one of the guys in my band and ranged from acoustic to pop to electronica to americana. And then the biggest difference of all with the awesome four metal bands Ball of Mayhem, G.A.I.N, Badmouth and Akribi who turned my songs into thundering hard rock! It proves that a song never has to be stuck in one genre – at least if it’s a good song

You can listen to all the EPs HERE and pre-order Akribi’s EP HERE!

Thanks for listening and supporting me all year!

E - Part Four of H.A.T.E by Akribi

So you thought the year was over? That there would be no more Sofia-songs to enjoy? Well you thought wrong. As a special treat we still have “E – Part Four of H.A.TE” coming up December 1st like an early Christmas gift.

I’m so happy to tell you that the last EP of the H.A.T.E saga is being recorded by Swedish band Akribi, who is the first band in the project to have a female singer (and she’s pretty damn hot too!).

In a sea of generic female-fronted metal bands, Akribi blatantly defies the worn-out gothic/operatic formula, staying uncompromisingly true to its progressive- and melodic metal roots. Based in the Swedish metal capital of Gothenburg, Akribi delivers its own brand of metal influenced by genre-defining acts such as Dream Theater, Symphony X and Marillion, but also by bands far outside the progressive genre.

Their debut album “Black Morning Sun” has recently been released to great acclaim, with reviewers calling it: “a jewel of an album, and a must have for fans of new progressive metal” and “premier league prog metal immaculately recorded with impeccable sound“, with the band being called: “one of the best female fronted progressive metal bands I’ve ever heard“.

So my hopes for Akribi’s addition to H.A.T.E is sky high!

Akribi has actually already sent me a teaser by a few pics from the studio. Let the count down begin!

Andreas by the piano

Alexander in the studio

David playing some licks!

Jessica recording some magic!

T - Part Three of H.A.T.E

Fantastic Badmouth just scored a big fat 10 for their EP ” T – Part Three of H.A.T.E” on Rocknytt!

“From what I can tell, the songs are written by Sofia Talvik. So congratulations on a more than great job done there, because these songs are deadly! Do you have a driver’s license? Don’t play this in the car, or you’ll be pressing the pedal to the metal. Are you a teetotaler? Don’t listen to this or you’ll be having a beer  headbanging beyond sense and reason. (…)

I’m cheap with giving full points, but here’s my second and best-motivated tenner ever! The motivation? Well, listen or read the text above again. Or better yet, do both!”

If you want to catch Badmouth and all these awesome songs live – get your ass over to RoQ in Stockholm, Sweden this Friday for their releaseparty. And if you can’t wait – get their EP WHICH IS RELEASED TODAY!!!! here: Sofia’s music store, Itunes, Amazon

E - Part Four of L.O.V.E

Wooohooo!

Happy November 1st everyone! Today is the day when the L.O.V.E saga has become complete! “E – Part Four of L.O.V.E” is now available on iTunes, Amazon and all the other places where you like to buy good music!

I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me fund this EP and all the other EPs in the L.O.V.E saga. It’s been a great experience and I could never have guessed that I had fans like you!

This week will be filled with making T-shirts, Posters, CDs and stuff for all you guys. I hope to get all the things sent out by the end of the week. Again – thank you so much for being a part of this journey!

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.

All the items are hand made by me and are exclusive to this EP, meaning they will only be available for pre-order and can’t be purchased after the release. All the CDs have hand made covers and are signed as well. The posters are signed and numbered.

You’ve heard some previews of the songs and I hope you like them. Today I’m posting a little video blog from when we’re mixing the song Lower Case Letters. As you know my producers have each chosen one of my previously released songs to make a re-make of and Marcus chose Lower Case  Letters from the album Jonestown.

As usual you’ll get to hear a preview of the finished song at the end of the video.

This little video blog is from the studio when we recorded vocals for my song “If I had a man”. You’ll also get to hear an exclusive preview of the finished song. How great is that?! Enjoy! (and pledge here!)

Click here to listen: Sofia Talvik – If I Had a Man

Thanks for helping out to fund this last EP in the L.O.V.E saga. Go here to help us finish the EP so we can release it on November 1st as planned.

Marcus playing the guitar on "E - Part Four of L.O.V.E"

“E – Part Four of L.O.V.E” is coming along nicely! Here’s some pics and videos from our first recording session. Marcus was a bit annoyed with me for making him have wine before recording but we had a good time and as you can hear it sounds great too

Notes for "If I had a man" by Sofia Talvik

Please help ups make this EP by pledging here!

Here’s how it works:

The EP “E – Part Four Of L.O.V.E” is the last part of a four piece saga called “L.O.V.E” – Help me fund them today!
http://www.sofiatalvik.com/v-part-four-of-l-o-v-e/

“L.O.V.E” consists of four separate EP’s with four tracks each, that will be released every 3 months during 2011.

I had a great response raising the money to release the first 3 EPs, not only were the fans influencing and enabling the releases, they also got access to the making through exclusive videos, demo releases, blogs and my musical journey.

This is how you can be a part of this:

1. Make A Pledge
Invest in an exclusive package from the list on http://www.sofiatalvik.com/v-part-four-of-l-o-v-e/. The packages includes signed memorabilia and other personalized treats.

2. Enjoy Updates
I’ll be posting exclusive videos, mp3′s, photos, and blogs throughout our journey. You’ll be able to comment, so if you have any interesting ideas, let me know.

3. Receive the download first
Once completed, you’ll be the very first to receive the download of the album. I’ll then be making all of your items, and the Pledge project will then come to a close.

I run my own label, produce everything by myself and I’m very hands on with the music and everything around it. All the bundles are endorsed and personally produced. They represent a personal part of me and I want to share that with you.

Please do keep checking back for updates and you can always hang out with me on http://www.facebook.com/sofiatalvikmusic and I look forward to our journey together.

xoxo
Sofia Talvik

T - Part Three of H.A.T.E

I’m so happy to announce that “T – Part Three of H.A.T.E” will be recorded by Swedish hard rockers Badmouth. Badmouth released their latest album Heavy Metal Parking lot to much praise in September 2011. H.A.T.E is the mirror project to my L.O.V.E project, where 4 rock bands make their own versions of the songs from L.O.V.E. “T – Part Three of H.A.T.E” is the rock version of “V – Part Three of L.O.V.E” which you can find here!

Working with producer Chips Keisbye (The Hellacopters), Badmouth have spent the last few years raking up some a great track record. The quintet has been featured in top Swedish Rock magazine, Red Hot Rock, top British rock magazine Classic Rock and had their material covered by Bruce Dickinson on his 6Music Rock Show among others.

The band did a handful of European tours in 2009, opening for Kingdom Come, LA Guns and Pretty Boy Floyd and played shows with Sator, Zodiac Mindwarp and The Poodles among others.

Right now they’re backing up Gilby Clarke from Gun’s & Roses on his Sweden tour and I’m so looking forward to hear their versions of my songs.

För mer info – kika under GIGS.

Sofia talvik Live

Vi ses på lördag!

E - Part Four of L.O.V.E

I can’t believe we’re down to the last EP in the L.O.V.E saga. In just over a month “E – Part Four of L.O.V.E” will be released and today we’re starting up the pledge for the final EP. Last but not least my guitarist Marcus Högquist is making his debut as a producer. Marcus has played in my band since 2004 and know all there is to know about my music. He’s the most talented guitarist I ever met and I’m sure he’ll be just as talented when it comes to producing.

Another great piece of news is that I have written a duet for the EP. It’s called “7 miles wide“ and Swedish artist Pontus Borg will be singing the song with me on the EP. You might have heard Pontus sing in the Langely commercial which is running on Swedish TV right now. You can have a listen to his awesome song “Free” here!

And if that wasn’t enough you’ll get my demo version of the song for free when you pledge.

We have some great stuff to choose from this time.

• Hand crafted CDs
• T-Shirts
• Posters
• Signed Lyric Sheets

And if you missed out on any of the previous EPs you can also get a full download of all the previous EP’s in the L.O.V.E saga.

E – Part Four of L.O.V.E” is released November 1st!
Pre-order it here!

Thanks so much for helping me out with this project. I couldn’t have done it without you.

My new video is featured on Radar Music Videos

My new video for my single ‘Delusional’ is being featured on Radar Music Videos! The video is made by Martin Obert.

Check it out here:

http://www.radarmusicvideos.com/video/sofia-talvik-delusional

V by Sofia Talvik

Hurray! Today ‘V – Part Three of L.O.V.E‘ is finally released, and it’s all thanks to all of you pledgers who helped me fund this EP and encouraged me through the production.

This time my bass player Janne Manninen has transformed my songs into electronica pop – a totally new sound for me which I love and I hope you will too.

Last night I started printing all the posters and T-shirts that you have ordered so soon all the goodies will be in your mail box! It’s now just one more EP in the L.O.V.E saga to be made and I hope you will support me through that too. It’s time to pop the champagne my friends so start dancing to your very own copy of ‘V – Part Three of L.O.V.E’

And don’t forget to check out ‘A – Part Two of H.A.T.E‘ by Swedish metal band G.A.I.N which is also being released today!

This awesome video is made by Martin Obert who filmed, edited and did all the shadow puppets by himself! I’m so glad to present to you ‘Delusional’:

We’re almost at 100% now so please help me raise the few bucks that are left. Go HERE to pledge!
‘V – Part Three of L.O.V.E’ will be released September 1st!