Chants of black magic, tainted with the lingering sunshine of the Florida sun…

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Soft, airy, and graceful, Swedish Singer/Songwriter Sofia Talvik is the next rising star from Sweden.
With her fourth album “Florida” Sofia takes her sound a step further and mixes her Scandinavian heritage with the mystique of the American south, like the chants of black magic but tainted with the lingering sunshine of the Florida sun she takes us on a journey unlike any other.

This sampler is from the fourth album “Florida” from Swedish Singer/Songwriter Sofia Talvik.

Release date is 12 May, 2010.

“The snippets we’ve heard are as engaging as anything she’s produced before, taking her effortless, almost angelic sound a step further by mixing her Scandinavian heritage with the mystique of the American South. As for the artwork? We love.” – wearsthetrousers.com

Music:

Embed the tracks with the Soundcloud player (get code by clicking share):

As We Catch On Fire

King Of The Willow Tree

One Sheet:
http://sofiatalvik.com/Sofia_Talvik_florida_one_sheet.pdf

Bio:
http://www.sofiatalvik.com/bio

Press Pictures:
http://sofiatalvik.com/media/pictures

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“There’s an intimate, often graceful presence to songs such as the lovely and haunting title track and even when the pace quickens, as it does on the single “My James Dean”, Talvik’s cool, detached delivery keeps the overall mood dark and dreamy with just the occasional ray of dappled sun breaking through.”

Jonestown featured on iTunes

Sofia Talvik‘s album Jonestown is featured on iTunes under “New and Noteworthy”

Get your copy today. Please rate and review it on iTunes.

“Sofia Talvik’s “Jonestown” is as long from a massacre as one can. It is a quiet album, but still more with the underlying anxiety than the previous ones that have been more to the sweet. The change is for the better and perhaps one of the reasons that Jonestown was produced by Tobias Fröberg.”

“Tastefully arranged with influence from both country and classical singer/songwriter. With her clear and bright voice, she seduces me from the first note…”

Name: Sofia Talvik
Career: Musician
Myspace Page: http://www.myspace.com/sofiatalvik
Official Site: http://www.sofiatalvik.com

Who is your musical inspiration?
I get inspiration from all sorts of stuff but musically I really like Aimee Mann, Neko Case and Tracy Chapman.

What made you want to become a singer?
It was something that just kind of happened. I got a guitar for my 18th birthday and started writing songs to learn how to play it. A few years later I sent in a demo tape to a radio show and thought they’d never pick it up but they did and it went to the top of the demo charts for several months. So then I just had to continue.

What do you love most about music?
They way it accentuates your feelings. Like if you’re happy and listen to a happy song it can make you bounce with joy but if you’re sad and listen to a sad song it can make you burst into tears.

Who/What is your favorite singer/band?
My constant favorite would have to be Aimee Mann but I’m also a fan of The Killers and lots of other bands.

Have you ever had a song that, no matter what, always cheers you up?
I can’t think of one right now. But “Heaven is a place on earth” with Belinda Carlisle is a song that I’ve loved since I was little.

In all of your accomplishments as a musician, what are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of having done so well with my own, small label. To think that me and my husband have achieved so much success with just the work of our own minds and hands is amazing. There are artists that are signed to major labels that never get to do the stuff I did, so I’m really thankful and proud to have been able to do all this.

Interview by Brittany

Name: Sofia Talvik
Career: Musician
Myspace Page: www.myspace.com/sofiatalvik
Official Site: www.sofiatalvik.com

Sofia Talvik

Who is your musical inspiration?
I get inspiration from all sorts of stuff but musically I really like Aimee Mann, Neko Case and Tracy Chapman.

What made you want to become a singer?
It was something that just kind of happened. I got a guitar for my 18th birthday and started writing songs to learn how to play it. A few years later I sent in a demo tape to a radio show and thought they’d never pick it up but they did and it went to the top of the demo charts for several months. So then I just had to continue.

What do you love most about music?
They way it accentuates your feelings. Like if you’re happy and listen to a happy song it can make you bounce with joy but if you’re sad and listen to a sad song it can make you burst into tears.

Who/What is your favorite singer/band?
My constant favorite would have to be Aimee Mann but I’m also a fan of The Killers and lots of other bands.

Have you ever had a song that, no matter what, always cheers you up?
I can’t think of one right now. But “Heaven is a place on earth” with Belinda Carlisle is a song that I’ve loved since I was little.

What’s your favorite song on your new album?
Definitely “Jonestown”. That’s why I named the album after it.

What is your favorite place you’ve traveled to?
I love Thailand. I’ve been there several times and I’m just in love with the culture, the food and the beautiful beaches.

Sofia Talvik

If you weren’t a musician, what would you want to do with your life?
I actually have a day-job as a freelance Art Director. That was my first career and I still think it’s a great job. I can also incorporate it in my music career as I do all my own artwork for the albums and stuff.

As a musician, what about your art do you value the most?
I think that the times when I’m listening to my iPod and having it set on shuffle, and then one of my old songs, like from my first album, comes up I’m always like “hey, this sounds really good”. So I guess I would have to say that feeling good about my music in retrospective would be what I value the most. I’m never ashamed of anything I’ve done music vise.

Having released your third album, how different does it feel from the release of your first album?
The first album was really exciting to release and with my third album I’ve sort of gotten a hang of it. I don’t pay as much attention to bad reviews as I used to and I keep looking forward instead of pondering about what I could have done differently.

Many artists’ sound often progresses over several albums. Would you say your sound and feel of your music has progressed or changed?
I think so yes. The first album was recorded they way we played live, and we recorded most of the instruments at once. The second was more mature put together and the third is different because I’ve worked with a producer to help me develop the sound further. I also think this album is more pop than the previous.

In the future, do you think you’ll take your music in a new direction?
I will probably try, but my taste in music and the way I write songs will probably always color my albums. But then again, having your personal style is a good thing.

Is there a certain genre you would like to try out if ever given the chance?
I’ve had dreams about making a jazz album with a big band, like the 40s swing bands. I think that would be so much fun.

If you could describe your sound in a sentence, how would you describe it?
Transparent and ethereal with a touch of a tornado.

In all of your accomplishments as a musician, what are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of having done so well with my own, small label. To think that me and my husband have achieved so much success with just the work of our own minds and hands is amazing. There are artists that are signed to major labels that never get to do the stuff I did, so I’m really thankful and proud to have been able to do all this.

Check out the gig page HERE for all the dates.

On Wednesday, 09 September 2009, Sofia Talvik will be doing a charity concert for Doctors without Borders at Slussen Hilton, September 9th. Tom Levin will also be playing his lovely songs.

All admission fees will be donated to Doctors without Borders. Read more about the Swedish branch here: http://lakareutangranser.se/uppdrag/ and check out the website for Concerts for a change here.

Price: 100:- Donation on http://www.lakareutangranser.se
Date: Wednesday, 09 September 2009
Time: 19:00 – 23:00
Location: Hilton Slussen, Eken Bar
Street: Guldgränd 8
City: Stockholm, Sweden

Jonestown to be released worldwide!

Makaki Music is happy to announce that the Sofia Talvik’s album “Jonestown” is being released in the US, Canada and Japan this fall! Street date for the album is the end of October. The release will be followed by a tour in the North-East of USA, so check in on Sofia Talviks homepage for updates about tour dates and other stuff!

Sofia Talvik is this weeks calendar girl

No it’s not Playboy or Sports Illustrated. Much better! It’s for the Scandinavian Girls group on last.fm

Summerdreamin has an awsome group on last.fm that list all the wonderful Scandinavian female artists on the site. Free downloads, streaming albums etc. If you have a favourite female artist that you want to tell them about, be sure to become a member and post your suggestion on the forum.

Go HERE to support the last.fm group

- It’s a collaboration that suits the way I work, says Sofia, we have a partner deal so I won’t be kicking off my shoes and wait for anyone else to take charge. My goal has always been to carry a strong business and be able to make my own choices. With Worldsound I have finally found a US label that is on the same page as me.

Worldsound describes Sofia as “The best Swedish discovery since Ikea”.

Worldsound will represent Sofia and Makaki Music worldwide, outside of Sweden, starting in March 2009.

Sofia Talvik at OurStage.com

Sofia Talvik won the monthly competition on OurStage.

Here’s what Sofia had to say about it:
I didn’t even realize I was in the competition until I got the #1 Channel Prize in Ourstage.com’s Folk genre for February. My song Jonestown had been compeeting and obviously went down well with the audience. I was also first runner up for the grand prize. Here’s some of the heartwarming comments on that:

OMG I can’t BELIEVE how you just got CHEATED in the LAST SECOND like that. First place for the last two or three hours. Oh man you got ROBBED!!! You deserved to win it all Sofia. Such an amazing song. We’ll get em NEXT MONTH for sure, though. Happy-dark. Hugs, XOX Vicky

This is such an Amazing Song and Incredible Vocals, I am with my friends, ought to have gotten the Grand Prize!!!!! You are a Bright Shining STAR****** Happy-dark Happy-dark.

OurStage gives you the power to decide who should top the charts in 50+ music genres, from Rock to Electronic, Rap to Country. Sign up today and make sure my songs keeps getting played.

And all of you who voted for Sofia Talvik – lots of love your way!

Shabooty.com has listed Sofia Talvik as one of the must-see-acts on SXSW this year! Be sure not to miss her showcase!!

Check it out here: https://cdbaby.com/playlist/7

This is what they said about the album:
The CD Baby editorial staff hears hundreds of albums every day and we love your SOFIA TALVIK: Jonestown CD so much we’re going to include it in our upcoming Haunting, Fractured Folk Pop collection which will be featured on cdbaby.com for one week beginning on Wednesday, December 31st 2008.

Here’s what Sofia got to say about it.

So you thought my last music video was retro with its 50′s theme? Well you aint seen nothing yet! This is the new video for my single “Clown” and this time I decided I would do it all by myself. So I did all the make-up and styling and filmed it (yes I used a camera stand). Then I cut it and edited it. But I’m not ready to throw away Jonas fabulous producer skills just yet, I did have him help me creating the burn-out effect on the last few frames of the vid

This is the first music video I’ve ever made and the second video I’ve made..ever (you’ve probably seen the behind the scenes video to “My James Dean”). I was inspired by old pictures and the creepy sense of the circus that the TV series Carnivale captured so well. The entire video was shot in my bedroom (but I won’t do a Pamela just yet), and the fab hat and stick was borrowed from my friend Theresia, they used to belong to her grandpa..

We guess that Sofia Talvik’s music really impressed the people at SXSW since they invited her. We are thrilled, honored and excited. And to all you guys that plan to attend, SEE YOU THERE! Keep an eye out for Sofia Talvik and inform all your friends.

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 until 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!
/Sofia Talvik

Check out the video here…

http://www.sofiatalvik.com

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

De skriver till Sofia:
“We’re *really* picky about what we feature. We get about 200-250 new albums a DAY coming in here now, (about 200,000 total), and yours is one of the best we’ve ever heard.”

I utlåtandet om skivan säger de:
“Fresh from a powerful performance at 2008′s Lollapalooza festival, Sweden’s Sofia Talvik is now poised to conquer the States with the release of her devastatingly beautiful third album. It’s a record of staggering elegance, with the faintest trace of Scandinavian twee and youthful exuberance. (Timpani, crisp castanets, tambourine, all the toys and tricks to put some bounce in your step.) But those forces are tempered by a subtle melancholy that slowly drips down the lonely walls while you listen until, by the last song, you’re drowning in a warm, welcome bath of sad sounds, syrupy string sections, and round, resonant horns. She combines modal chord changes and beautiful 60′s euro-pop production with the gentle singing of a 70′s folk songstress. Her voice shines through the dark tones of dramatic, lush orchestrations and the haze of reverb like a ray of liquid luminescence. “Jonestown” will remind you of Goldfrapp, Pulp, Nico, Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Belle & Sebastian, Aimee Mann, Tori Amos, Burt Bacharach (I could go on and on!), and yet it sounds entirely original and, more importantly, rings true.”

“As summers pass” är en retrodoftande låt om sommarens och kärlekens förgänglighet, ­producerad av Tobias Fröberg som också är aktuell som producent på Peter Moréns soloskiva. Tobias spelar även de flesta instrumenten och körar men Sofias distinkta röst och gitarrspel är fortfarande i centrum.

“Jonestown” släpps den 27:e Augusti.

Videon finns att se på följande ställen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmY4bzzY0qM&fmt=18

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=36531375

http://www.sofiatalvik.com/media/videos/

Sofia åker på en kortare USA-turné i slutet av Juli. Turnén avslutas med en spelning på den största amerikanska festivalen “Lollapalooza” i Chicago den 1-3 Augusti.

Den 27e augusti släpper Sofia Talvik sin tredje skiva “Jonestown”. Som ett smakprov på låtarna från skivan har hon ställt upp 12 svenska favoritartister framför sin webbkamera och framfört låtarna live.

En gång i veckan under sommaren släpps en ny video på MySpace med en ny låt från “Jonestown” och en ny gästartist.
Sofia har samlat musiker från Sveriges artistelit såväl som up-and-coming stjärnor, och när alla videos släppts kommer det hela att resultera i en  tävling där deltagarna har möjligheten att vinna ett härligt cd-paket med 13 cd-skivor, en från varje gästartist och det nya albumet “Jonestown”

Först ut mäter ni Jonna Lee.
Direktlänk till första videon med Jonna Lee: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=36327176

(Ps. “Jonestown” är inte ett duett-album, alla videos är exklusiva tolkningar av låtarna Ds.)

Den 25 juli åker Sofia Talvik iväg på en USA-turné som avslutas med en spelning på den anrika Lollapalooza festivalen i Chicago.

Några fler medverkande:

William Crafoord
Tom Levin
Karin Ström
Papa Dee
Pelle Tamleth (The Sunshine)
Sara Rumar
Kristina Westin
m.fl

Sofia Talvik

HitQuarters.com is the world’s largest music industry search directory, including contact information and individual track records.

You find the link for Artist Of The Week down to the left at www.HitQuarters.com

SongQuarters.com is a member community for the world’s most successful publishers and song writers.

Read more about the festival here: http://www.lollapalooza.com

www.myspace.com/sofiatalvik

Du släppte din andra platta, Street of Dreams, nyligen, och nu släpper du en helt ny sommarlåt. Produktivt värre. Hur kommer det sig att du väljer att släppa nytt nu igen?

– Ja den här sommarlåten är liksom ett litet experiment eller hur man ska säga. Den är väldigt annorlunda från det jag brukar göra och när den poppade upp i huvudet kunde jag inte få ur den så jag var tvungen att spela in den helt enkelt.

Read more here.

Sofia Talvik – med estetiken i blodet.

I Sverige, där Sofia Talvik är född och uppvuxen rör hon sig backstage i musikens korridorer. Kanske får att hennes musik absorberas bäst live och i intima sammanhang.

- Jag har inget speciellt budskap med min musik. Den handlar om mina känslor, mina iakttagelser av det som händer runt mig. En bild från en film, en strof från en bok, det missförstådda, det udda och ett utanförskap. Men för många låter det säkert bara som kärlekslåtar. Allt ligger i hur man tolkar orden, säger hon.

Read more here.

Sofia Talvik makes me wish that I knew Swedish.

I couldn’t tell you what it’s about. It could be about anything from clubbing baby seals or clubbing with baby seals. Despite this, Sofia ensures us English speaking fans that we’ll love it no matter what we think the lyrics are, and she’s absolutely right in this case. Well, at least she’s sort of right, because I certainly love it.

She also ensures fans that this song is just a sudden outburst of summer, and while it may sound very different from her other music you should not fret! She hasn’t entirely swapped genres. Fortunately, if she did ever decide to switch up her sound, she could TOTALLY pull this style off. Girl sounds good on them horns.

She just released her summer single “Blåa linjen hem”.

Read more here.

Enligt Trästockfestivalens hemsida har Sofia Talvik ett välförtjänat rykte om att vara väldigt bra live.
- Har jag det ryktet hoppas jag att jag kan leva upp till det, säger hon och skrattar.

Sofia Talvik dementerar inte att hon skulle vara en bra scenartist utan konstaterar bara att hon har spelat rätt mycket.
- Det går inte att gömma sig bakom något när man spelar live. Är du bra märks det, är du dålig märks det också.

Read it here.

Bild: Ciprian Gorga

Read it here.

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Click here to download.

“Street of Dreams” is the second album from Sweden’s Sofia Talvik. This album is 13 tracks of quirky love songs that run deeper than they seem. Highlight was the single “It’s Just Love” featuring Bernard Butler. Swooping and dramatic, this song is a convincing demonstration of the talent of those involved.

Read more here.

“I’ve just received my signed copy of Sofia Talvik’s new album, Street Of Dreams and positively insist you go out and get a copy for yourself.

Street Of Dreams is Sofia’s second album, a successor to the 2005 release of Blue Moon with her backing group The Tallboys.

Sofia has a beautiful voice and a great range and this album showcases it to perfection. The music style is primarily guitar-based with a strong folk influence on some of the tracks. The writing is simple and very effective; nothing too flowery or buried under a mountain of metaphors. This makes her songs instantly accessible and immensely memorable. Indeed, you’ll be singing along to some of the tunes in your head for days afterwards, guaranteed.”

Read more here.

Sofia Talvik – December

It’s not very often I come across Folk music that’s to my taste. Maybe it’s just a genre that doesn’t really do that much for me, I don’t know. Now, before all Folk artists out there get all defensive and start writing in complaining that I’m dissing them as a collective, please, save your venting, you couldn’t be further from the truth.

MP3 of the Month

You see, although I’m not the biggest lover of Folk music in general, when it’s done properly, like pretty much any genre (especially Classical but that’s a totally different story), it can be stunning.

Look at artists like Gemma Hayes, Kathryn Williams, Nick Drake, Tom McRae or Cara Dillon, with the latter especially being truly sublime. Folk absolutely is a genre that’s both under appreciated whilst also being a backbone to music as a whole and one we must all embrace ‘for the greater good’.

No, what sets December apart from the bunch is that it’s just so much more delicate than the others.

With a vocal range tinged by echoes of Dolores Mary O’Riordan Burton from the Cranberries blended with a light heartedness that in some ways isn’t too distant from Joni Mitchell in her heyday all those years ago, December has managed to remain on constant replay for a good while now and will continue to do so until another track off the album takes our fancy.
Featuring an accent that does at times sound Irish it’s almost unnoticeable that she is in fact from Sweden. Don’t worry. We’ll keep the Abba references to a minimum.

That’s what leads me onto Sofia. We decided to choose December as our MP3 of the month above all other tracks off her most recent long playing effort Street of Dreams as it would be too easy to choose the single It’s Just Love based on the facts that 1 – it’s a single already and 2 – it’s a duet with one of my personal heroes, Bernard Butler, now, that would bias the vote ten fold.

Sofia has obviously been working as a solo artist for long enough now to realise where she wants to get, it’s abundantly clear that she’s working with people who are on her wavelength and are helping her do that

If there was ever a time for artists like Sofia to be in the forefront it’s got to be now, we’ve got others Acoustic Soloists like James Morrison and Blunt pushing acoustic based song writing into the mainstream and whilst we really shouldn’t pin all of our hopes on artists like these, god help us if we did, it is great to see that every now and then artists like Sofia do get the spotlight shone in their direction. 2007 should be the year that spotlight gets turned to face her and we wish her all the best when it does.

I am also green with envy that she’s worked with a hero, but I’ll get over that so don’t worry too much..

www.myspace.com/sofiatalvik

Duncan Buchanan

Bättre än prisade konkurrenter

Skivan inleds med Its silly now to say, ett brev, eller en hälsning till en gammal kärlek. Ett effektivt sätt att locka in lyssnaren in i ett lågmält, men ändå väldigt omskakande album.

Street of dreams är Sofia Talviks andra skiva. Den första, Blue moon, hyllades unisont av en enig kritikerkår. Nu visar det sig att den lyckade debuten inte var en tillfällighet. Den svåra “andraplattan” är precis lika bra, kanske till och med bättre. Förklaringen ligger i rösten och i modet.

Den spröda rösten är hennes främsta vapen. En sylvass, men ändå spröd Joni Mitchellstämma som bär fram berättelserna på ett naturligt sätt. De modiga texterna består av knivskarpa iakttagelser Här finns en eftertänksamhet, ett sorgligt vemod över dagar som gått. Talvik har modet att inte hålla tillbaka, skivans största stunder är också de mest nakna och självutlämnande.

Det hörs att Sofia Talvik kan sin Joni Mitchell. Soundet ligger nära Mitchells milstolpe Blue. Undantaget från den formeln är Its just love, förstasingel och en duett med idolen Bernard Butler. Its just love är ett avbräck, ett tyngre, lite rockigare spår än resten av skivan. Ett perfekt singelval, men knappast en låt som ger insikt i hur resten av Street of dreams låter.

Invändningen ligger i skivans längd. 13 låtar fördelade över 44 minuter är i längsta laget. Det ställer stora krav på lyssnaren att hålla koncentrationen. Tre fyra låtar kortare hade denna skiva varit ett ännu tyngre slag i magen.

Anna Ternheim, Frida Hyvönen, och Sofie Zelmani räknas som drottningar på den svenska kvinnliga singer-songwriterscenen. Det är smått obegripligt och orättvist att Sofia Talvik ännu inte nämns i samma andetag som dem. Street of dreams borde bli hennes stora genombrott.

Jörgen Boman 2007-02-14

Sofia Talvik
Titel: Street of Dreams
(Makaki Music/Border)
Betyg: 3

Ung svensk singer-songwriter som även hon har potential att nå Norah Jones-publiken. Med gitarren i famnen skriver Sofia Talvik precisa små ballader, elegant arrangerade, som hamnar någonstans mitt emellan pop, country och folkmusik. Hennes debutsingel ”Ghosts” från 2005 blev en stor framgång i P3. På andra albumet sjunger Sofia duett med Bernard Butler från Suede och radar upp ännu starkare melodier.

Jan Gradvall

Sofia Talvik
[album, Makaki Music]
7/10

Konvolutbilden, med Sofia under ett färggrant solparasoll, påminner mig om omslag med Aneka och Kate Bush. Fotot känns kommersiellt på gammalmodigt vis, men är samtidigt rätt trevligt som motpol till de nu för tiden så ofta mörka och murriga bilder som genomsyrar skivutgivningen. Låtarna är kanske inte fullt lika problemfria och glättiga, men även merparten av dem är trevliga. Sofia Talvik gör tidlös och mjuk folk- eller singersongwriterpop med engelska texter. Hon har en behaglig röst som påminner om någon annan, men jag kan inte komma på vem. Det spelar heller ingen större roll.

Streets Of Dreams är inte de stora gesterna eller känslornas musik. Snarare flyter sångerna på, stillsamma, trivsamma och lätt melankoliska. Helheten är oskyldig – nästan oskuldsfull – men fin, och plattan ger avkoppling samtidigt som den engagerar.

Det händer dock en ytterst irriterande sak i början. Andra låten heter ”It´s just love” och är en duett mellan Sofia och Bernard Butler, som vi minns från Suede. Av någon märklig anledning ökar inspelningsvolymen extremt under just den låten. Därefter är volymen densamma som i första spåret igen när ”Running out of you” tar vid. Det här är ett ytterst störande moment och jag hoppas att det rättas till innan skivan kommer ut i handeln. För övrigt är Streets Of Dreams en riktigt trevlig filt att värma sig med när världen utanför känns lite frusen.

Robert Ryttman

Read more here.

Betyg: 4/5

Bästa spår: It’s Just Love och Running Out of You.

Just den här recensionen är ganska speciell för oss på Illinoise. För första gången har vi nämligen, tack vare det svenska skivbolaget Makaki Music, givits möjligheten att recensera ett album innan det faktiskt släppts på marknaden. Tillika är det den första egentliga chansen jag fått att verkligen såga en skiva vid fotknölarna, då man har en tendens att bara göra nitiskt planerade inköp baserade på allehanda åsikter och recensioner när det handlar om ens egna pengar.

Min jungfrusågning hamnade dock på avvägar när jag först lät skivan rulla i iTunes. Spår efter spår bjuder Sofia på nästan outhärdligt vackra melodier, kryddade med hennes egna konstant ofelande och exceptionellt finkänsliga röst. Och som om inte det vore nog har hon på någon outgrundlig vänster lyckats få före detta Suede-gitarristen Bernard Butler att ställa upp i duetten It’s Just Love, vilken tillsammans med Running Out of You och What Happened on the Bridge Today är kronan på hennes verk.

Skulle man i sökande efter mer uppenbara fel på skivan nämna något negativt är det att vissa av låtarna tenderar att smälta ihop med varandra. Mellan de verkliga höjdpunkterna levereras nämligen ett antal något stillsammare, dock lika fagra och klanderfritt framförda, spår som var för sig är storslagna, men som i alla tillsammans snarare har en sövande effekt än de hänförande egenskaper de har som enskilda sånger.

Låt er inte avskräckas av de negativa åsikter som råkade slinka in framåt textens slut. Dessa anmärkelser är nämligen bara petitesser, och betyder absolut inte att skivan inte är värd sina 139 riksdaler. Tvärtom är Street of Dreams ett lika förtjusande som förtrollande album, och tillika en fantastisk start på skivåret 2007.

Hugo Larsson

Swedish singer/songwriter Sofia Talvik upcoming single “It’s just love” is a duet with Bernard Butler, original member of British “Suede”.

Talvik, that released her first album “Blue Moon” 2005, is releasing her new album “Street of Dreams” in the beginning of next year. She sent her song “It’s just love” to Bernard hoping he would be interested in making the duet with her.

- Since I was such a big Suede-fan during thier first albums I though it would be cool to have Bernard Butler as the male voice on the single. It felt so predictable too choose a male singer/songwriter, and I wanted someone with a different style than me. So I contacted him, Sofia says.

Bernard Butler started the topduo Suede in the early 90s and have since his depature from the band in 1994 done a solodebut, being part of McAlmont & Butler and rejoining with Suede-singer Brett Anderson starting the group The Tears last year.

Read more about it here.

Sofia Talvik follows her acclaimed debut with an equally accomplished sophomore effort. Her sound is soft and layered and has some things in common with Heather Nova and Sophie Zelmani. Vocally she’s sweet but has a hidden strength.

“It’s Just Love” sees ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler guesting on vocals. His voice suits Talvik’s just fine and they sing of not giving in and trusting love. It’s a majestic song with sweeping strings and a redemptive mood. “Running Out of You” is like Sophie Zelmani’s lovely and understated songs. It doesn’t speak loudly but the message gets across anyway. “Holding Your Hand” is a nice song that sounds familiar in the way that good songs can do. The sound is a lot like that of Talvik’s debut Blue Moon. “Will You Call Me When You’re Sober?” is despite the title a pretty tune about longing for that special someone. Talvik’s delivery is on key and the backing’s understated. Her new album is a very nice listen.

Anna Maria Stjärnell

Sofia Talvik: Street of Dreams Review

Swedish singer/songwriter Sofia Talvik’s sophomore album ‘Street of Dreams’ is a true work of art.

The album was anything but what I expected when I first popped it in the player. Sofia’s voice is truly beautiful. The songs work perfectly with her range and talents. Each song has a great haunting quality and though you might not expect it, you find yourself humming the songs to yourself for the rest of the day. The album crawls it’s way into your hearts and stays.

My person favorites include ‘It’s just love’ – a duet with Bernard Butler of the band Suede. The song is a gorgeous duet. ‘Will you call me when you’re sober’ is another of my favorites. In conclusion ‘Street of Dreams’ is a truly gorgeous album that I highly recommend. You can purchase it online from Sophia’s official website Sofiatalvik.com or from Itunes from January 30th onward.

- by Kat

“Today is a good day. There are many reasons. But one of them is spelled Sofia Talvik.

I got a new favorite song! It’s called “It’s Just Love” and is the result och Sofia Talviks cooperation with Bernard Butler (Original member of Britpopband Suede). So cool that Miss Talvik has charmed him to do it! It sound really really good I can tell you! I’m looking forward to the realease of her new album in the end of January! An increadable follower to the first album”

Read More.

A really nice evening with alot of nice people in the bar spellbound by the lovely voice of Sofia.

• Sofias homepage.
• Sofias Myspace.

Sofias debut album “Blue Moon” got raving reviews from press all over Sweden.

Sofia Talvik was born on an island, right outside of the west coast of Sweden. At the young age of 18, she left for the capital and began to write those beautiful stories, which made people acknowledge her from the very beginning. After a successful EP, she collected 12 of her songs and recorded her debut album “Blue Moon”. As the writer, artist and producer she controlled every step of the process and the result was an album where the lyrics was in the center and the melodies the essence. “Blue Moon” took 40 intense hours to record and is basically recorded as live sessions as the goal was to make the record sound as Sofia Talvik and her steady companions The Tallboys would sound at a consert. Having made herself a reputation of a great live-artist, frequently playing at the clubs in Stockholm and around Sweden this was a natural way of doing it and gives the album a uniqe sound that makes it timeless in the sense that it could have been recorded 20 years ago aswell as 20 years from now.

“Blue Moon” was released by the independent record company Starboy Recordings (distributed by Playground music Scandinavia) in May 2005, and got raving reviews from press all over Sweden.

 Read more about it here.

"Musikplats Stockholm" keeps an eye on new music and events in Stockholm. Sofia is part of the experts that will be listening and judgeing new Swedish and International music.

The show also features live acts from various Swedish musicians.

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