In late 2012, after leaving Japan, I moved to Australia for the second time – this time to Western Australia for a couple of years…
in a wildflower state is a lost album – recorded in Perth WA and surrounding regions, between 2012-2014 – unreleased at the time.
The music here is rustic, reflecting the vast ancient arid landscape, overlaid with touches of Nyoongar and bogan sounds. It includes appearances by Nat da Hatt, Cylvi M, and Renato Salvador.
Videos
Tracklist
| 1. | Didgeridoo overture / overkill 01:47 |
| 2. | Dry wind (Fremantle doctor) 01:26 |
| 3. | Nat da Hatt + fiffdimension – The Road to Bogandoor (Australian election 2013 mix) 03:46 |
| 4. | Sandalwood & Quandong 04:38 |
| 5. | Ukulele & magpies 01:23 |
| 6. | Kalgoorlie super pit 04:25 |
| 7. | Brazilian BBQ (ft Renato Salvador) (bonus) 04:33 |
| 8. | Rabbit proof fence (bonus) 03:19 |
| 9. | Nat da Hatt + fiffdimension – The Horror (sports mix) (bonus) 03:35 |
| 10. | Scabbers’ beach 02:45 |
| 11. | Cylvi M – Ode to Ed Kuepper 01:06 |
| 12. | Mundaring Weir 01:49 |
| 13. | Stomping in Freo (bonus) 02:17 |
| 14. | Kalbarri coastline 04:55 |
| 15. | Stromatolites 01:49 |
| 16. | Inverno ’13 (Indian Ocean sunsets) |
Life in Western Australia, 2012-2014
Known as ‘the Wildflower State’, Western Australia covers an enormous area – the size of India, but with a population of under three million. Metaphorically, to be a ‘wildflower’ can also mean a wandering spirit or traveller (such as a kiwi expat on an OE).
The isolation and profoundly western setting of WA proved a different challenge from living in Asia; I loved the clean air and wide open spaces, warm sunny climate, endless surf beaches with spectacular sunsets over the Indian Ocean, and unique wildlife and vegetation.
…but although the outdoor lifestyle kept me in good physical health, my mental health eventually suffered – from isolation plus relationship, financial, and work stresses – hence the unfinished album and lack of live gigs there. I came home to New Zealand (via Indonesia) in late 2014, to rebuild a life in my own country.
Further listening
in a Wildflower State is a followup to the double album After Maths & Sciences, made the previous decade in Melbourne and Sydney – a stylistic departure from my earlier recordings in New Zealand (travel broadens the mind).
More recently, I’ve visited Australia twice since, and played a gig in Sydney in 2024 (live album tbc):
After six months in Melbourne, I lived in South Korea and Japan, teaching English for a living and delving deeper into ethnomusicology – see 2005-2012 – before moving to Perth.
For an overview of the period see Other Islands: 2012-2018.
It’s somewhat hard to believe my time in WA was a decade ago already… but then, Loose Autumn Moans is now two decades ago!
fiffdimension 
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