13th Floor MusicTalk

Adam Hattaway releases his new album, High Horse , this Friday. Although it a solo record, his bandmates from The Haunters are all over it along with a few other friends and producer Marlon Williams. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Adam just days before release day and found him at home in Christchurch having just had a good run...gotta stay in shape these days! Adam explains how and why Marl...

Dawes  has just released their new album,  Oh Brother . with the band down down to the Goldsmith brothers, Taylor and Griffin. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  caught up with  Taylor Goldsmith  who was home in Los Angeles helping care for his new baby but happy to talk about house parties,  Warren Zevon  and  Mister Los Angeles.

Al Anderson  first recorded with  Bob Marley  on his  Natty Dread  album in 1974, playing on classics like  Lively Up Yourself, No Woman No Cry  and  Revolution  and performing with Bob at Western Springs in 1979. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  spoke to  Al Anderson  about that historic show, working with Marley in the studio and the new al...

Australia’s  Sarah Blasko  returns with her 7th solo album titled  I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain . And while it sounds like hard work, she says its “the most relaxed and free-wheeling album I’ve made”. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  spoke to Sarah just ahead of release day and discussed how she made such and accomplished, intense record in just five days.

The Fleshtones  release their new album,  It’s Getting Late (…and More Songs About Werewolves)  today and we have spoken to front man  Peter Zaremba  about Werewolves, The Cramps, Chicago Pizza and The Saints. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  spoke to Peter just days before this new collection of SUPER ROCK classics his the stores. Peter talks about covering  Johnny...

Willie Watson  left  Old Crow Medicine Show  in 2011 and has released three solo albums since then. He latest, a self-titled affair, is the one closest to his heart as it is the first to feature his own songs. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  found Willie in California where he was more than keen to talk about making this new record, reuniting with his old band and celebrating with...

Soul Asylum have just released their 13th solo album titled Slowly But Shirley and here his front man Dave Pirner to tell us all about it. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda tracked down Dave Pirner in Columbus, Ohio, where he and the band were about to play a show. Watch, listen and learn how the new album was produced by a Rolling Stone and find out who Shirley is. 

Soccer Mommy , aka  Sophie Allison , has just released her fourth album,  Evergreen,  one in which she calls a sonic return to her roots. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  spoke to Sophie, who was home in Nashville, just days before the record was released. We asked her about those sonic roots, which, by the look of her new video for  Abigail,  might be the colour purple.

Iain Matthews has been making music for almost 60 years...as a founding member of Fairport Convention , scoring a hit with Woodstock with his band Matthews Southern Comfort and releasing somewhere between 40-50 solo albums. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda found the British-born singer/songwriter at home in The Netherlands where he's been based for about 20 years. Here he is to tell us about his new al...

Lone Justice sprang out of the fertile LA "cowpunk" scene of the 1980s that also spawned bands like Rank & File, Social Distortion and The Blasters and distinguished themselves with the powerful pipes of vocalist Maria McKee . The band split after releasing just two albums...now there is a third. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to bassist, songwriter and producer Marvin Etzioni about how thi...

Tess Liautaud  is about to release her second album, titled  Blue Mind . Here is Tess, direct from Christchurch, by way of Paris and New York to tell us about it. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  spoke to Tess on the eve of the release of  Blue Mind,   a record made with the help of fellow Christchurch-based artists such as  Adam Hattaway  and  Elmore Jones &nbs...

The Buzzcocks  are returning to Auckland for a 3-date tour in November. Founding member  Pete Shelley  died in 2018, but fellow-founder  Steve Diggle  is keeping the music alive. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  spoke to Steve about “moving over to the middle”, respecting the band’s legacy and making new music.

Phoebe Rings re-release their self-titled debut album today with added bonus track Daisy . Why the reissue? And is there a full album on the way. Crystal Choi tells all right here right now. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Crystal who was in Hobsonville prepping for the band's Australian shows happening this weekend. Crystal reveals why the EP has been reissued and why she considers herself a...

Mousey is the nom-de-plum of Christchurch-based artist Sarena Close and she is just about to release her very personal third album, The Dreams Of Our Mothers' Mothers! The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Mousey, who stopped in to our 13th Floor Studio while in Auckland to perform with the Exploding Rainbow Orchestra . This 8-song collection addresses issues that are very close to Sarena such as f...

You may know  Caleb Landry Jones  for his work as an actor in films like  Dogman, American Made  and  Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.  But have you heard his music? Turns out Caleb is a man of many talents. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  spoke to Caleb about his latest album,  Hey Gary, Hey Dawn,  originally released in April, but fortified wit...

The Half-Cubes are one half of veteran power-pop band The Flashcubes who formed in Syracuse, NY way back in 1977. The original band is still going strong while drummer Tommy Allen and bassist Gary Frenay have split off to crank out another 24 power-pop classics as The Half-Cubes on their new album titled Pop Treasures. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Gary and Tommy about making Pop Treasures...

Los Bitchos  have released their second album, titled  Talkie Talkie , and here is guitarist  Serra Petale  to tell us how the band has evolved since their acclaimed debut disc. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  spoke to Serra, the Australian member of the quartet, who is in London to reveal how she and her bandmates added a new, “sparkly edge” to this collection of exotic inst...

Shihad frontman Jon Toogood is just days away from releasing his first solo album, Last Of The Lonely Gods . Jon visited The 13th Floor and shared his thoughts and  insights on making this very personal record. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Jon about the 'personal carnage' that motivated the songwriting behind this record

Its been a dozen years or so since Nashville-based singer/songwriter Mindy Smith has released a new album. But now we have Quiet Town , 12 new songs that she calls "a meditation on overcoming adversity". The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Mindy about making Quiet Town, a record that was informed by her meeting of her birth family and discovering her Blue Ridge/Appalachian Mountain roots. 

Modern English  formed in 1977, signed to 4AD and hit it big in 1982 with  I Melt With You . The original band is back together and they’ve done just about everything over the past 40 years except perform in New Zealand. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  spoke to  Modern English  front man  Robbie Grey  about what we can expect when the band finally gets here for thre...

Blues belter Shemekia Copeland is back with Blame It On Eve an album she calls, "a vacation from all the heaviness" of the trilogy of records that preceded it. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda found Shemekia somewhere in California where she was quite happy to talk about working with Will Kimbrough, Luther Dickinson and Alejandro Escovedo .

The Bug Club are a three-piece band from Wales who have been described as sounding like the Modern Lovers meet Nuggets-style garage rock. We think they just rock and so do the good folks at Sub Pop who have just released their new album titled, On The Intricate Inner Workings Of The System . The 13th Floor's Marty Duda found Sam Willmett and Tilly Harris in South Wales and talked to them about Jam...

Kiwi singer-songwriter Molly Payton is now living in London where we found her after coming off a European tour promoting her debut album, YOYOTTA, or You're On Your Own This Time, Again. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Molly who was up early...7am with a cup of tea... with plenty to talk about including how she rebounded after being dropped by her manager and label and why she's obsessed wit...

Singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Randall Bramblett has just released his latest collection of original songs titled Paradise Breakdown. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda found Randall in his home studio in Athens, Georgia and talked to him about songwriting, aging, politics and anything else that came to mind. With a 50 + year career in music playing and writing for the likes of Bonnie Raitt,...

Ash is coming back! The Northern Irish trio finally played New Zealand last year after a 20-year hiatus. Now they are coming back with The Singles Tour and a few tunes from their latest album as well. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Ash front man Tim Wheeler about the band's favourite singles...both their own and by others....and how the band Garbage took them under their wing when Ash were g...