Biffy Clyro: The 13th Floor Interview
Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro are coming to Auckland for a one-off show at Spark Arena on Tuesday, April 24th. As it turns out, this is a rare show for the trio, who only have a handful of dates planned for 2018. Instead they plan to spend most of the year in the studio, working on […]
Lawrence (Felt): The 13th Floor Interview
Begun by a teenager known only as Lawrence who was obsessed with Tom Verlaine of Television, Felt emerged at the end of the 1970s. The London-based band, led by Lawrence and supported by a revolving lineup of musicians, released 10 albums and 10 singles during the 1980s, then promptly disbanded, mission accomplished. Now, the enigmatic […]
Melissa Etheridge: We Have Come a Long, Long Way (Interview)
Melissa Etheridge is joining forces with Sheryl Crow for a three-date tour of New Zealand beginning April 9th at Trusts Stadium in Auckland. It wasn’t that long ago that a show featuring two women as co-headliners was considered bad business. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Melissa recently about the changes that have taken […]
Josienne Clarke: The 13th Floor Interview
English folk duo Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker release their sixth album today, titled Seedlings All. The twosome has been recording together since 2010 with Josienne handling most of the vocal duties and songwriting while Ben plays a myriad of instruments and arranges the tunes. Seedlings All is the duo’s first long player to feature […]
The 13th Floor Photography Series: Ivan Karczewski
Hello, my name is Reuben Raj and I am pleased to host a new segment on The 13th Floor that focuses on music photography and the faces behind the camera. We hope this new feature will allow our readers to learn more about our talented team of photographers who work relentlessly in capturing moments of […]
Lucy Dacus: It Makes Me Want To Throw Up, & It Makes Me Want To Dance At The Same Time (Interview)
Lucy Dacus is on a roll. The Richmond, Virginia native’s 2016 debut album, No Burden, earned the singer-songwriter rave reviews and a contract with Matador Record. Now, Dacus has just released the hotly-anticipated follow-up titled Historian. It’s a highly-personalized concept album…the concept being contemporary life in America. A few days before the album’s March 2nd […]
Director Sophie Fiennes on Making Her Grace Jones Documentary: Bloodlight And Bami
English film director Sophie Fiennes comes from a family of artists. Her brothers, Joseph and Ralph, are both acclaimed actors, while her mother, Martha, is a director and her father, Magnus, is a composer. Sophie began making her own films in 1998 and her most recent is a rather surprising look at musical icon Grace […]
Drax Project – The 13th Floor Interview
For four Wellington music students, the transition from classroom to festival stage has been swift. Three years ago The Drax Project were playing cover tunes on street corners. Now they’re playing festivals like Homegrown and Sound Splash, touring with Six60 in Aussie and opening for Lorde and Ed Sheeran. Tim Gruar rang guitar and vocalist […]
Stiff Little Fingers’ Jake Burns on Not Fading Away: The 13th Floor Interview
“Live fast, die young,” and “Not fade away,” surely apply to the first punk generation that exploded in a blitzkrieg of bile and fury in the 1970’s. The mantra was like some anarchic politico-SAS mission. Yet a few of the old guard endure – The Sex Pistols reformations or the return of the Buzzcocks… and […]
Reverend Peyton: “You Can Almost Smell The Dirt” (Interview)
Reverend Peyton brings his Big Damned Band back to Auckland for a return engagement at The Tuning Fork this coming Friday.
Glass Vaults Explain That ‘Braingasm’ Thing Ahead of Coastella
Indie-pop shapeshifters Glass Vaults want to bring you a little bit of a cerebral thrill. Their latest release The New Happy mixes twisting guitars with spasms of digital blips and dashes – all intended to get you moving. Ahead of their upcoming appearance at Kapiti Coast’s Coastella Festival, Richard Larson talks to Tim Gruar about […]
Chris Botti: “You look out there, and there are twenty people in tears” – The 13th Floor Interview
Jazz trumpeter Chris Botti makes his New Zealand performing debut at Auckland’s Bruce Mason Centre on February 21st.
Eden Mulholland talks Rushes, Rooms and Writing
Eden Mulholland released a string of sweet indie pop albums a few years backand then disappeared. Now he’s resurfaced with a newly composed soundtrack for the Opera Peer Gynt, written a score for a dance company and recorded a few songs, including his latest release Forwarding Backwarding. Tim Gruar had a chat to him on […]
The 13th Floor Photography Series: Michael Flynn
At The 13th Floor, we are immensely proud of our talented team of photographers who work relentlessly to capture moments of music history. Here is a new feature to allow readers a glimpse behind the scenes into the world of music photography. Our guest photographer today is none other than Michael Flynn from Michael Flynn Photography.
Simple Plan: The 13th Floor Interview
Canadian pop-punk rockers Simple Plan will pick up where they left off last year by bringing their No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls 15th Anniversary Tour to Auckland’s Powerstation in April. This will be the first New Zealand performance for quintet. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Simple Plan lead singer Pierre Bouvier just after […]
13th Floor Talks To Mermaidens Abe Hollingsworth
Back in early August last year Wellington trio Mermaidens released their most recent long player, Perfect Body. Since then the band has toured at home and across the ditch, gaining accolades and respect for their unique sound. Now, this February they’ll get to play at their home crowd, at Wellington’s second Coastella Festival. Tim Gruar […]
The Return of Blind Boy Paxton: Interview
Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton returns to New Zealand this month to open for Kitty, Daisy & Lewis at Auckland’s Powerstation on February 11th. The American roots and blues musician will then headline five more shows throughout the country. The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Jerron recently to catch up on what he’s be up […]
Keeping Up With The Cavemen: The 13th Floor Interview
New Zealand garage rockers The Cavemen made the move to London a couple of years ago. Since then they’ve been tearing up the European club scene. Their UK-based record label, Dirty Water Records is reissuing the band’s first album, recorded in Auckland, on blood red vinyl this week with two bonus tracks. We thought this […]
Watch: Amy Sheppard Talks To The 13th Floor!
We’ve got the sparkly brand new video from Sheppard, Coming Home here. Amy Sheppard has been holidaying in New Zealand and stopped in to The 13th Floor to talk to Marty Duda about working with her siblings, life on the road – including Sheppard’s stint last year opening for Justin Bieber, and of course, the […]
Salad Boys: The 13th Floor Interview
Don’t be fooled by the name. On first blush, ‘Salad Boys’, might appear to be the title of some left wing anarchic vegetarian collective or, worse, the cast of a 1930’s musical. Thankfully, neither. The band, principally the brainchild of Christchurch-based Joe Sampson and a revolving collective of talented supporters, make brilliant indie music rooted […]