Francisca Griffin of Look Blue Go Purple Auckland Show Announced

Key member of legendary Flying Nun Records group Look Blue Go Purple, Dunedin singer and multi-instrumentalist Francisca Griffin (fka Kathy Bull, also of Cyclops) has announced a rare live performance at Auckland experimental hub Audio Foundation in late July. Griffin will be playing songs from her forthcoming album the spaces between, the artist's first release since the late nineties. The new collection features contributions from Griffin's children Gabriel Griffin (of Sewage), Alexander Griffin and Oscar Mitchell, alongside a who's who of Dunedin talent including Alastair Galbraith, Deirdre Newall, Alan Haig, Mick Elborado, Kath Webster, Forbes Williams and Ro Rushton-Green. She'll be accompanied by her live band The Bus Shelter Boys, aka Gabriel Griffin and Mick Elborado, for what's sure to be a special occasion indeed, here are the details...

Francisca Griffin and The Bus Shelter Boys w/ Hermione Johnson and Stefan Neville
Saturday 28th July - Audio Foundation, Auckland
Tickets available HERE via UTR

Listen to Francisca Griffin's 2017 single 'Falling Light' from the spaces between...

Press release:

Audio Foundation is pleased to announce a rare performance by Francisca Griffin, the Flying Nun legend of Look Blue Go Purple fame.

She is joined by The Bus Shelter Boys (Gabriel Griffin/ Mick Elborado) and will be playing music from her first release since the late 90s and upcoming album ‘the spaces between’, ahead of its release on Cocomuse. Her first single Falling Light is a testament to Francisca Griffin's strength as a songwriter; with the familiar jangly, expansive Dunedin Sound(ing) guitar lines, which meet her adroit lyricism, Griffin's latest work promises to be a triumphant return to the Auckland stage since Look Blue Go Purple.

Griffin is known for her multi-instrumentalism on bass, guitar and vocals as a part of Look Blue Go Purple, which was part of Flying Nun’s ‘second wave’ (along with Doublehappys, Straitjacket Fits and the Abel Tasmans). LBGP formed in 1983, they honed their sound in a Dunedin practice room under a record shop, where they developed a distinctive style with layered vocal harmonies, keyboards (and even flute) over trademark Dunedin guitar strum and solid beats. They released three EPs before calling it a day, but Griffin continued to pursue music later playing in Cyclops, before releasing her first solo work in 1998.

Her upcoming album the spaces between came together as a family affair: her youngest, Gabriel (who plays in noise duo Sewage) drums on ‘the spaces between’ and helped lay down the bones of the album over an Easter Weekend back in 2015. Her other children also lent a hand: Alexander Griffin being featured on mandolin and Oscar Mitchell painting the inner sleeve artwork. It also features a plethora of Dunedin-centric contributors, including Alastair Galbraith (The Rip, Plagal Grind, Handful of Dust Deirdre Newall (Del Girl,TPo8), Alan Haig (The Chills, Snapper), Mick Elborado (Terminals), Kath Webster (Look Blue Go Purple), Forbes Williams and Ro Rushton-Green (Sewage).

Ian Henderson (Fishrider Records) describes Falling Light “the kind of freshness and instantly recognisable light and airy guitar tones of its place of origins. Psychedelic folk perhaps, Southern NZ style, and in some respects as reminiscent of David Kilgour’s solo music as it is of Look Blue Go Purple.”