13th Floor MusicTalk

TT  is  Todd Tappin , a songwriting troubadour who is just about to release his debut album,  Man On The Corner , one that was written and recorded after receiving some very drastic new from his doctor. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  spoke to  TT  just before release day and talked to him about making his debut album, thinking, at the time, that his time on Earth was ru...

Former Atlas frontman Sean Cunningham is returning to New Zealand after over a decade's absence. Sean with tour the country with old friends like Rodney Fisher, Moses Emmanuel and Emla Palmer beginning next weekend. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Sean, who was home in Nashville about what we can expect during these very special shows, one's that Sean describes as a "songwriter's showcase". S...

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to British singer-songwriter Billie Marten just after she touched down in Auckland and asked her what we can expect at her solo show. Billie's got a new single out and a new album in the can so there with be new songs and old favourites. Watch, listen a learn how Billie feels about starting her career at age 12, her thought on government funding the art and how sh...

Opeth bring their unique brand of prog/metal to New Zealand and Australia next year when the Swedish quartet plays  7 shows featuring 2 hours plus sets including landmark masterpieces and songs from Opeth’s darkest and heaviest album in decades - the critically acclaimed concept album,  The last WILL and TESTAMENT . The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Opeth guitarist Fredrik Åkesson abo...

Search For Yeti are a Wellington-based trio who have just released their debut album, Dark So Soon, and make music that finds inspiration from such disparate acts as Sigor Rós, Bright Eyes and Frank Turner . The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Sean Barker , who like his two bandmates ( Luke Marlow and Vince Waide ), writes the songs and sings them...Sean also plays the drums and all three are cat...

Mt Eden is the electronic music man Jesse Cooper's alt-ego. You probable know him for his Dubstep classic, Sierra Leone. Now, get to know him again with his new EP, Venom . The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke with Mt Eden just as his new EP, Venom, was being released. This is something of a "comeback" for the dubstep pioneer. So what's he been doing and what are his plans for the new year? Find out...

Burton Cummings , charismatic front man and songwriter, formerly of The Guess Who , has just released his first solo album in over a decade...17 songs he calls A Few Good Moments. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda found Burton in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (of course) when he was ready to talk about his 60 years in show biz including stories about driving for Jim Morrison , buying those Nashville Sneakers...

Underground experimentalist  David Grubbs  ( Squirrel Bait/Gastr del Sol ) meets with The 13th Floor to talk about making music with  The Squanderers  and his own upcoming solo album. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  found David in Berlin on the day that his new solo track,  The Snake On It’s Tail  was released. We were looking for him because he, and  Kramer &n...

Julian Taylor  is a Canadian roots/folk artist who has just released his latest album,  Pathways   and then shared a stage with  Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Lucinda Williams, Mavis Staples  and a host of others. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda  found Julian in his car in Toronto with his dog Cathy. Julian was gracious enough to spend some time with The 13th Floor talking...

PRINS has announced her Heaven or Hell Tour coming to New Zealand in April. The Kiwi electro-popper reveals to the 13th Floor what this "New PRINS Era" will look and sound like. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to PRINS , who was in Manchester, just after celebrating her birthday. Although PRINS has only released one song over the course of the year, she has been busy writing in LA, touring Germa...

Sally Stockwell is a singer/songwriter/actor/theatre maker who is about to release her new album, Little Triggers, to the world. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda found Sally in her new home in Christchurch where she lives with her two daughters. Motherhood is a prevalent theme throughout the 11 tracks that Sally created along with producer Eden Mulholland. Sally calls the work, "a bold exploration of t...

Sam Fowles is a Wellington-based musician who has just released his debut album titled After Dark.. .produced by The Black Seeds' Barnaby Weir. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda caught up with Sam in Wellington just prior to release day and talked to him about working with Barnaby and "going deep" with his mentor, Warren Maxwell of Trinity Roots.

The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Dean Wareham , who happened to be out in the desert at Joshua Tree, just days before the US Presidential election. Yes, politics were discussed, but so were The Rutles, The Cure and the legacy of Galaxie 500

The Tom Irvine Band releases their new album, Under The Wharf , tomorrow and Tom Irvine was at the 13th Floor studio yesterday to tell us how he and producer/guitarist Dylan Storey put the record together. The 13th Floor's Marty Duda sat down with Tom for a chat about the band, the album and the songs and how Lowell George and Little Feat made a mark on his songwriting. 

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...