Fame & Oblivion: 2005-2012

“This is something that he has to do, that he will do, come fame or oblivion” –Chris Knox

Made in New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, and Japan.
Includes tracks by Ascension Band, The Winter, Cylvi M, Wellington’s Most Famous Orchestra of Miraculous Delights, Dave Black & Nat da Hatt.

“As Dave Edwards he has explored fuzzy punk, free-jazz, spoken word, alternative-folk and demented pop… as Dave Black, the palette is broadened” – Simon Sweetman

by Dave Black (acoustic & electric guitars, banjo, harmonica, laptop, bass, tenor saxophone, field recordings, piano, gayageum, vocal), with

Mike Kingston (acoustic guitar),
Simon Sweetman (percussion),
Nat da Hatt (electric guitar, keyboards),
Cylvi M (vocal, field recordings, percussion, shakuhachi),
Hayden Gifkins (electric guitar),
Nigel Patterson (hammond organ),
Ryan Prebble (tone generator),
Matthew Thornicroft (electric guitar),
Jeff Henderson (drums),
Noel Meek (vocal),
Hans Landon-Lane (ukulele)
and field recordings from Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, and Japan.

“Experimental and avant-garde…. There is a clear passion, and a commitment to pushing the boundaries… This will challenge your perceptions of what constitutes music and open the mind to new possibilities of sounds that surround us – muzic.net.nz“

This is a sequel to the Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005 compilation.
The third part of the trilogy, Other Islands: 2012-2018, documents my return to NZ via other Asia-Pacific countries,
A fourth volume águas Brilhantes: 2018-2022 covers more recent works made in the Wairarapa and Fiji.

Whereas Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005 showed a youthful kiwi fusion of songs with avant-garde spoken word and instrumental pieces, Fame & Oblivion: 2005-2012 documents me in my late 20s and early 30s moving beyond these parameters.

My approach became less introspective and more journalistic – thanks to new influences from years spent living abroad in Australia, South Korea and Japan. New elements include the banjo, electronica, field recordings, multimedia performances, and touches of traditional Asian music. I also adopted the moniker Dave Black, to differentiate from my earlier works.

Featuring tracks from the albums