“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.”

“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.

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.

“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.

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

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

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