Sofia Talvik a woman of true talent
Interview conducted on December 04, 2019
by Dan Locke
Sofia Talviks music has a special tint of her Scandinavian heritage, making her a favorite among music lovers. A North Sea siren blending sparkle and melancholy. She is a veteran performer with 6 full length albums who tours both Europe and USA every year. She’s seen more states, and more places in the USA than the average american, and she seems to love it. This Swedish singer/songwriter has now toured through 47 states in her little 1989 tour RV otherwise known as Lil’Chief.
Dan Locke: You play a lot of acoustic instruments including violins, cellos, trombones and acoustic guitar. Alone with piano. What came first?
Oh. I think you got that a bit backward. I play the piano and guitar. So as I play keys that allowed me to add sampled instruments to my recordings but I don’t play violin, cello or trombone though I’d be very happy if I did. I started playing piano at the age of 8 and started playing guitar as late as 18.
How did you get your first guitar and do you still have it?
I still have it. It was a birthday gift for my 18th birthday from my parents.
What is your favorite guitar make and model and did you name it?
I play Guild D25. It’s my favorite because it has an arched back like a cello with a nice bassey sound. No, I don’t name my instruments.
Since you are from Gothenburg, what can you tell me about Bjorn Kristian Ulvaeus a member of ABBA?
Not anything that you don’t already know.
If you were in the band ABBA would you ask for your payment for your shows be in oil? Let they did.
No, I have no idea how I would pay my bills with oil. I listened to an episode of Planet Money and it seemed very hard to turn a barrel of oil into money.
Can you tell me about your first gig?
My first gig was a performance at a square in Stockholm. I don’t remember who was the organizer but I wasn’t busking. It was quite nerve-racking.
You started your career in 2004. And released your debut album “Blue Moon” in 2005. You did everything including the recording and producing the entire CD yourself, and you did it under 40 hours. How did you do that?
I didn’t write the songs in those 40 hours. At the time I had already performed live for a while and had a backing band. We had 40 hours in the studio to record the album, but we had, of course, played the songs together before that 🙂 but I did have a clear vision of the sound and it was a bit of puzzling together to fit everything into those 40 hours.
You partner with Bernard Butler in 2007 whom you contacted via MySpace. In 2016 MySpace lost a ton of material. How much of your music did you lose at that time? And did you have everything back up?
I didn’t have anything on MySpace that I didn’t already have locally on my computer. Not that I know of anyway. I stopped using MySpace many years before that. It was really fun, to begin with, but it just got too cluttered.
Your third cd was produced by Tobias Fröberg, who also worked with Peter, Bjorn and John. How did you get him to work with you?
I worked with Tobias before he worked with Peter Björn and John. He’s a great singer/songwriter himself and we actually knew each other from our then day jobs.
Did you play Lollapalooza in Chicago, Illinois, in 2008? How was that? I can’t believe I missed you because I was photographing the fest. What stage did you play? And what performer did you see that blow you away?
It was huge. Especially since it was my first US tour so I had no idea of anything. We played a smaller stage in the afternoon but it was a nice crowd and wow it was so hot that day. I was mostly blown away by seeing all the big stars backstage.
You have traveled to almost every state in the United States. Which one do you still have to perform in?
I’ve played in 46 of the 47 I’ve been to. I miss Delaware (though I’ve been there), ND, AK, and WV.
In 2013 you spent 1 1/2 years traveling the country in an RV for your Drivin’ & Dreaming tour.
This is from 2015, my latest release is Paws of a Bear/ release, Big Sky Country.
You also released a book called “Drivin’ & Dreaming- One artist’s odyssey through America”. How did it do?
We made a Kickstarter for the book which was funded in 24 hours. I think because we connected with so many people on the tour and it was a project that included them all. Big sky country has been going strong since the release. I still like it a lot.
Since you had an RV, what foods did you enjoy cooking while on the road?
It has to be quick and easy so I tend to do a lot of stuff with grilled chicken, like chicken wraps or quesadillas. When I have a day off I like to bbq a nice steak with baked potatoes.
What is your favorite state?
I really like Idaho and Wyoming. I think nature there is beautiful.
What food have you discovered while touring?
Unfortunately, I have to discover pizza a lot of the time…
How do you stay healthy while touring?
I try to cook as much as possible and avoid junk food.
Is “Take Me Home” almost like a tribute to John Denver?
No. It’s a song about my home time.
Gavle, Sweden looks like a great place to do your video for the song Siren Song. Why did you pick that area of the world?
It’s my husband’s home town so he knew some nice locations for filming and we were there to see family this summer.
Can you tell me about your upcoming release “Paws of a Bear”
Paws of a Bear was released in September and I’ve been very lucky to have gotten such great reviews for it. I’m really happy with the album and my wonderful musicians who recorded with me.
Why do you release a Christmas single every year?
I think it’s a nice tradition to give my fans a Christmas gift. It’s always a free download.
Does your husband still work as a video person in the industry?
No, we work together with our record label and he is my sound engineer on tour.
How do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
Hopefully alive and kicking.
Anything in closing?
Thanks for the interview 🙂
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