(The House of Sweden)
A few weeks ago I trekked down to icky Georgetown from the comfort of my friend's place near Adams Morgan to go see a woman perform I knew nothing about in the basement of a very snazzy building. I hopped on the bus, not really knowing what to expect. As I walked up to the building I remembered I had been outside of it before, sitting on a bench across from its grand entrance, getting distracted by the ostentatious architecture and wondering who the hell designed such an extravagant building. Thanks to Wikipedia now I know, Gert Wingårdh and Tomas Hansen. Awesome. I walked up to it and entered the lobby, a little intimidated by the large windows and high ceilings. The guard looked at me and smiled as I timidly asked where the concert was held. They directed me downstairs where I descended this beautifully crafted floating staircase down to a level where a miniature, very shallow indoor pond sat inconspicuously. I had to do a double take. I'm lucky I didn't fall in. EXAGGERATING. I think there was railing there haha, but you just don't expect to see something like that inside! Well, when you enter such a magical place anything goes I suppose.
Finally I made my way into the small room set up with tables where people sat leisurely drinking as they watched this woman perform. I came in late. What else is new. So I stood in the back, but had a very decent view because the room was so small. The first thing I thought when I saw her was, "Oh no. I almost forgot my aversion to female singers. I hope this doesn't suck." Sofia Talvik was phenomenal. Her voice was beautiful. It was only her and another guy with a guitar, but their sound was so strong. Not overpowering, but filled with emotion that swept over you like a serenely thoughtful wave, calming yet stirring. She uses repetition a lot and usually I feel like repetition's a cop out, but there are artists who have mastered the art and make it their own, Sofia is one of those artists. Her song Burning Fields which you can download for free at www.worldsound.com/free/sofia was actually one of my favorite songs. A bit depressing, but you know how I'm into that ish. I must say she does sound slightly better live, but I'm not disappointed by the sound at all. She was so endearing on stage, not an ounce of an ego, just so sweet. She kept encouraging pepole to stay and talk to her after her set. Her new album is called Jonestown, named after the horrible massacre. That song is also really beautiful in a painfully, heart wrenching way. You can hear that song on her website.
Everyone's always crying about getting new music, so check her out!
Sofia Talvik
I'm out.
No comments:
Post a Comment