Sweden's Sofia Talvik recently released a new album, 'The Owls Are Not What They Seem'. A mix of folk and near-country (read: steel guitars and some beautiful voices), this album is exceptional. She answered a few questions from the road, where where she and her husband are currently residing.
Alright, you have to explain this RV tour you're embarking (already embarked) on. What? Why? How? Who?
Well, the tour is called Drivin' & Dreaming and basically that means we'll be driving around the US in an old RV playing as much as we can. Me and my husband started talking about doing this about a year ago and all the preparations like applying for the right kind of visa, booking and everything took about a year. I was just so tired of little Sweden and felt like I had to try something else, and I've had a great response to my music here in the US. In November 2011 we arrived in Florida where we bought an old Gulfstream Conquest '94 that we spent two weeks on totally remodeling inside. I think that if you're going to be on the road for two years it's not enough to just have an RV, you have to feel in your heart and soul that it is your home and that you chose everything in it, so we put in new floors, wallpaper and everything, even a new queen size bed.
We started touring in FL in December and then we headed up towards GA, SC and NC where we are now. We're touring towards Memphis, TN where I have an official showcase at the Folk Alliance International Conference in February and then towards Texas where we're playing in March.
We got a little sticker map on the side of the RV and every time we come to a new state we get to put a sticker on the map and I do a little video blog about it. It's fun. We're going to try to reach as many states as possible. The plan is to play our way around the US to expand my audience and experience as much as possible at the same time.
How would you say your new album differs than your last one?
For every album I've released I've recorded in different ways. My first album was studio sessions with my band where we recorded almost everything at the same time and for the other albums I've experimented with layering of instruments, working with a producer for one of the albums and stuff. For this album I felt like I almost wanted to go underground. I didn't want anyone to know I even recorded an album. So I recorded all the basics - vocals and guitar in my bedroom. All the tracks are live recordings with guitar and vocals recorded at the same time, which makes it virtually impossible to adjust afterwords with editing or autotuners or stuff. I just wanted all the songs to be the very essence of me. I wanted them to feel organic and live, not statically recorded and produced to drum tracks like so much other music you hear today. Then I added more instruments afterwards but I tried to keep it very stripped down and acoustic. I think this album is very honest in a way. I'm not hiding behind anything.
What song are you most proud of writing on it? Lyrically and musically?
That's a hard question. People seem to like "The Garden" the most, and that's also the song we've chosen as the single if you can talk about stuff like singles anymore... I think "7 miles" wide is a good song. It tells a story and it's really heartfelt. I adore the pedal steel guitar on it too.
Where is your tour taking you next?
We're in Asheville right now and then we're heading down to Atlanta, GA, Auburn, AL and towards New Orleans and Memphis. We just arrived in the Black Mountains and it's really beautiful. I just wish it wouldn't be so cold because when you're boondocking (not staying in a campground) and don't have access to electricity it can get pretty cold in the RV at night.
And where might life be taking you next?
Well, I'm just releasing this new album and I hope America will discover me through it and through the tour. I feel like I've made a few new fans at every gig I've played and that's really my goal. After two years of touring that adds up, haha. Maybe I can even upgrade my RV to a '00 next year.
(Photo by Virdeo Puro)