13th Floor MusicTalk

Singer/songwriter and sometime actor Victoria Canal is about to release her debut album, Slowly, It Dawns and we caught up to her in Seattle after she escaped LA and the brushfires that threatened her and her home.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Victoria about making Slowly, It Dawns…a collection of 12 tracks recorded with a variety of producers and musicians which is why she calls it, “unapologetically chaotic”. The songs that make up the album were written after touring with Hozier and one of them, Swan Song, has been hailed by Coldplay’s Chris Martin as, “one of the best songs ever written”.

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 running short…and then learning that he was was again fit and healthy. Its a powerful story, one that TT hopes listeners with find a “message in the music”.

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". Sean's visit may also result in some new music recorded with old friends, so watch and listen and then go to the shows.

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 she visualizes her songs.

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 about the upcoming tour, the new album and recording with Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson. 

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 cats lovers, which explains the music video

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 here!

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 and taking a Yellow Cab to Rochester.

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 (Galaxie 500 producer) have formed a new band with guitarist Wendy Eisenberg and released a new album titled If A Body Meet A Body, that he claims was recorded in one day. As it turns out, there’s more to that story, and more coming from David Grubbs, so watch and listen.

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 about the “new Something” that drove him to write the eight new songs that make up Pathways and he gives us a glimpse backstage into that star-studded tribute for Robbie Robertson he took park in last month.