2016 roundup

2016 has been another busy year here, with several new projects that should come to fruition in 2017.

* East to West

The feature-length movie of my international travels and ethnomusicological recordings premiered at the NZ Fringe Festival and toured south to the Southland Arts Festival in Invercargill

I was also fortunate to visit a new country this year: Fiji.

After a year of regular rehearsals, a live debut at the Performance Arcade 2016, and a series of unannounced guerilla busking gigs in Cuba Mall, the Electricka Zoo – the duo of Dave Black and the Digitator – are ready to make a splash in 2017. We’ve held off releasing a ‘proper’ album this year, but do have a 7″ vinyl single of a track that is not available online, and a collection of our early demos and improvisations is available on Soundcloud.

* Gamelan Padhang Moncar

I joined the long-running Javanese gamelan ensemble led by Budi Putra, and our performances this year included Pataka Gallery in Porirua, the Newtown Festival, the NZ School of Music, and culminated in the Indonesia Festival at Te Papa. We also made an appearance on national TV in Indonesia.

Also, I continued to play gamelan music in the louder and faster Balinese style, with Gareth Farr and Gamelan Taniwha Jaya.

In all, in a year overshadowed for many by various celebrity deaths and political shocks, things have continued to develop nicely here. Rather than making an instantly-dated attempt to ‘remain relevant’ I’ve just carried on doing my own thing. If you’re not already familiar with the fiffdimension back catalogue, stretching back nearly 20 years now, visit the timeline page.