Watch: 13th Floor MusicTalk with Elizabeth & The Catapult

Today we talk to Elizabeth Ziman aka Elizabeth & The Catapult about her beautiful new album, sincerely, e. 

This is why we do what we do… finding non-mainstream music and trying to help find an audience for it. If you’re a 13th Floor regular chances are you are going to love this new album from Elizabeth & The Catapult. 

Marty spoke to Elizabeth, who is locked down in Brooklyn, about making this very special album. Check out what Elizabeth has to say, then take time to listen to the music.

Follow Elizabeth & The Catapult: WEBSITE   YOUTUBE   SPOTIFY   FACEBOOK   INSTAGRAM  TWITTER

A missive from Elizabeth:

As I am sure you can all relate, head games and a bit of self torture are normal after the dissolution of any relationship. But the unique kind of Petri dish that was last year’s isolation allowed my past desires to freely bloom in my head, on the page, and make its way into the music with the third release from sincerely, e, entitled “thirsty.”

“thinking of you makes me twitch, makes me itch
and now I’m sick in all the wrong places, kid
‘til it stings like a bitch and your fingerprints
are faded tattoos on my porcelain skin”

Going inward during quarantine meant not only grappling with the world outside of my four walls, but getting lost in the depths of fantasy and intimacy in my mind. What does a break-up song look like during a pandemic? “thirsty” sure felt like a clearing house for my heightened emotions and it was cathartic to let my bitterness take center stage. Yet, there’s still a lightness, a humor in the song, as I clearly acknowledge the futility of complaining.

“when I think of all the time I wasted on trying,
it feels like a lifetime spent doing nothing
oh my my, it’s all so damn appalling
when god knows you’re not worthy worthy, worthy, but I’m still thirsty…”

I purposefully paired the words “worthy” and “thirsty”– seemingly loaded with shame about having those feelings — but ending with empowerment on top, seductively whispering my angsty, carnal desires in refrain: “I’m still thirsty, I’m still thirsty, I’m still thirsty…”

This tune needed to have a good groove and I made sure that all the elements had a little more spunk than usual. It was important not to have anything clean on there. My friend Adam Minkoff playfully plucked the upright bass giving the song its nervous pulse. I played the outside and inside of my piano; clapped and hissed; distorted the Rhodes and the mellotron to give it that extra bite – “and I feel a bite like your teeth in my side”; made the background vocals as dirty and tinny sounding as possible, doubling as a chorus of supportive, protective women friends. I wanted the whole thing to build into a glorious mess.

Here’s to hoping you can hear and feel both sides of the song: light-hearted and cynical, humorous and frustrated. In a way, this is one of the most vulnerable tracks on the album. No matter how much attitude I layer on, I bet you can still see right through me.

sincerely, e