A big thank you to Radio Dolby 89.6FM for this podcast interview – hopefully an interesting audio documentary, and a chance to put the music (and stories behind it) over the years into context… here’s my life story so far, or at least a lot of the music parts!
Continue reading “Radio Dolby 89.6FM interview”Category: 2010s
2CD compilation 1998-2023
Celebrating 25 years of fiffdimension!
Electric (yang) / Acoustic (yin)
A collection of short tracks by Dave Edwards and collaborators.
“Double disc collection of more than two decades’ worth of live and studio-recorded tunes by Dave Edwards, who you may have heard recently as part of The Troubled Times with Antony Milton. It’s quite a diverse listen!
“You get some concise and catchy pop songs, some full-on rockers, banjo excursions, improv freak-out, poetry, acoustic blues, folk songs, scrambled noise… there’s something here for everybody. A good intro to Dave’s dauntingly deep discography.”
– Howard Stelzer, Noisy Bandcamp.
Produced by Antony Milton; and features Paul Winstanley, Chris O’Connor, Simon O’Rorke,Chris Palmer, Sam Prebble, Mike Kingston, Francesca Mountfort, Damian Stewart, Emit Snake-Beings, Nat da Hatt, Steve Duffels, and Oscar (the dog).
2CD double album. 35 tracks spanning 25 years. Comes in gatefold card case with full colour photography by Jechtography and James Gilberd. Includes download of the digital album.
Review
Continue reading “2CD compilation 1998-2023”“Electric (Yang)/Acoustic (Yin) boasts some wildly different tracks; short instrumentals (the guitar and percussion of King Street Boogie, the piano and birdsong of Tui and Grey Sky, the guitar, rain, and bucket- possibly oboe too- of Classical Rain Bucket), song-length instrumentals (the gorgeous and floaty Kalbarri Coastline, the spaced-out psychedelia of Shuffling The Tarot, October Ring‘s sweet little guitar melody being countered by its evil twin sowing dissent and discord), spoken word over free-forming instruments (After The Filmshoot describing either a spiritual experience or very good drugs… or both, @Bomb The Space sounding like a guitar being attacked, Ornery Return Cravings spoken over sheer instrumental chaos), and occasionally, songs too (the stripped-back post-punk glory of Tony Was Here, the slithery, smoky, speakeasy feel of Cafes In Conversation, Inverno creeping in like a fever-dream of The Cramps, and the beautiful, emotionally-charged Paetumokai (Pua pua i te Koanga)). Dave Edwards is a thoughtful and talented writer, composer, and performer. This double album ably demonstrates that, from the soft, delightful guitar ramblings on Stromatolites, to Wealth And Riches that sounds for all the world like a battle to the death between a drumkit and a horde of toy robots.
“He doesn’t seem to so much want to push boundaries, as to act like he’s never heard of boundaries in the first place. At times soft and beautiful, at others dark and jarring, it makes for fascinating listening.” – Peter Malthus, muzic.nz
Gamelan Dimensi Kelima (Indonesia, 2014)
Field recordings and gamelan from my visits to Indonesia in 2014.
As well as the tracks recorded in Indonesia, the album includes gamelan ensembles in Western Australia, and NZ between 2010-2018.
Listen
About
The album title translates to “Gamelan Fifth Dimension”.
Gamelan was introduced to New Zealand in the 1970s. It has an active scene in Wellington (my birthplace, where I first encountered it in 2010 – thanks to www.gamelan.org.nz ).
From 2012-2014 I lived in Perth, Western Australia, and played in the ensemble Gamelan Sekar Puri. From there I was able to visit Indonesia (and Malaysia) relatively affordably.
On returning home to New Zealand at the end of 2014, I spent the next few years as a member of the Wellington gamelan ensembles: Gamelan Taniwha Jaya (Balinese) and Gamelan Padhang Moncar (Javanese). In 2017 I moved to the Wairarapa, so travelling for regular rehearsals became impractical.
The field recordings were made in 2014 in Indonesia -in central Java, then Bali and Nusa Penida islands;
As well as very different scenery, cultures, cuisines and religion – the islands have strikingly different subgenres of gamelan. Stereotypically, the Javanese style is more hypnotic and meditative, while the Balinese style is faster and complex.
Yogyakarta and Surakarta, Central Java
Bali and Nusa Penida
Credits
- Dave Edwards – saron, jublag, jegogan, field recordings, bass, electric guitar, tenor saxophone
The field recordings are mixed alongside gamelan ensembles, recorded between 2010-2018;:
- Gamelan Taniwha Jaya
– Wellington NZ, – led by Gareth Farr - Gamelan Sekar Puri
– Perth, Western Australia – led by Sofari Hidayat - Gamelan Pura Mangkunegaran
– Surakarta, Indonesia - Gamelan Padhang Moncar
– Wellington NZ – led by Budi Putra
Other collaborators
The album also includes other, more experimental Indonesia-inspired 2010s collaborations with fellow postpunk expat ethnomusicologists:
- Emit Snake-Beings– field recordings, harmonium, percussion (5,9,10)
- Nat da Hatt – electric guitar & beats (8)
- Cylvi M – jegogan (1), saron (3), shakuhachi sample (9)
Tracklist
The Winter: 2010
Newly discovered 2010 ‘lost recordings’ by The Winter –
An improvised music trio of Mike Kingston, Dave Edwards, and Simon Sweetman –
Includes live performances at Fred’s (the only known video of the band), and previously unheard recording sessions on 25-4-10 and 6-6-10.
credits
releases June 6, 2023
Continue reading “The Winter: 2010”in a wildflower state (Western Australia, 2013)
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).
Continue reading “in a wildflower state (Western Australia, 2013)”águas brilhantes: 2018-2022
“We go from bossa nova rhythms to folk to RIO to indie to, what is interesting listening if nothing else, a dog howling along to a banjo (Oscar’s Blues) […] and songs taken from Poems & Lyrics (in the Scotch dialect) (1856), where Dave paid tribute to his ancestor John Collie who wrote a book of poems more than 150 years ago.
“It is unusual to find someone playing so confidently in such diverse areas, and anyone into independent music will certainly find something on here to enjoy – Kev Rowland, muzic.nz
Listen
About
- fiffdimension compilation vol 4 (a followup to Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005, Fame & Oblivion: 2005-2012, and Other Islands: 2012-2018)
- Made in Featherston, Masterton and Port Chalmers (NZ), Paris (France), and Suva (Fiji)
- Includes tracks by The Troubled Times, Campbell Kneale & Dave Black, James Robinson & fiffdimension, Oscar (the dog), and poems & lyrics by John Collie (1834-1893)
águas brilhantes (or ‘glistening waters’ in English) is the Portuguese translation of Wairarapa, the Māori name of the region where I’ve lived the last few years.
My ancestors arrived here in the 19th century – one was a Scottish poet, another a stowaway from the Azores islands.
This compilation includes pieces inspired by the region and my ancestors, and new and old collaborators – including a torch-passing to younger members of my family.
Credits1
by Dave Edwards – guitars, bass, banjo, harmonica, vocal, lyrics
with
- Antony Milton – keyboard, electric guitar (The Troubled Times)
- David Heath – drums (The Troubled Times)
- Campbell Kneale – electric guitar & analogue synthesiser on ‘both chords’
- Hans Landon-Lane – ukulele, accordion, vocal (Clever Hansel)
- Celeste Rochery – guitar & vocal on ‘My Native Land’
- James Robinson – bell drum on ‘June’s Lounge‘, lyrics & vocal on ‘the edge‘ and ‘old brain‘
- John Collie (1834-1893) – Poems & Lyrics (in the English and Scotch Dialects, 1856)
- Dr Emit Snake-Beings – keyboards & percussion (in Fiji)
- Elario Irava – acoustic guitar & vocal (from Fiji)
- Nat da Hatt – electric guitar & thumb piano on ‘June’s Lounge‘
- The Digitator – keyboards & vocal on ‘Inverno‘
- Oscar – vocal on ‘Oscar’s blues‘
- Rhys Landon-Lane – classical guitar & vocal on ‘by my faith sirs this canna lang dee‘
released December 22, 2022
Tracklist
Features previously unreleased recordings, and tracks from
Further listening: the albums












The Winter: Shortest Days 2003-2015
A compilation by Wellington NZ free improv trio The Winter
Simon Sweetman – drums, percussion
Mike Kingston – guitars, cello (2-5), clarinet (7,11,14), charango (7,10)
Dave Edwards – guitars, vocal (3), harmonica (4,7,9), banjo (7), ukulele (7,9,11), saxophone (10,14), piano (10), bass (12,13), electronics (6,8,13)
Wellington, New Zealand,
free improv music trio, formed on winter solstice day June 2003.
An archive compilation,
Continue reading “The Winter: Shortest Days 2003-2015”Escape Velocity: the Electricka Zoo live
New live album!
With New Zealand in lockdown this might be the next best thing to an actual gig..
Track 1 recorded live at the Fringe Bar, Wellington NZ, 27-02-18
Tracks 2-7 recorded live at Escape Velocity, Featherston NZ, 10-03-18
As part of the New Zealand Fringe Festival
credits
The Digitator – midi, laptop, vocal
Dave Black – bass, electric guitar
www.fiffdimension.com/the-electricka-zoo
ilhas Atlânticas
This track was originally recorded by The Electricka Zoo (2017), and appears on the Other Islands: 2012-2018 compilation. It’s based around a (non-diatonic) Cmaj7 – Amaj7 pattern, with a bossa nova rhythm.
It’s dedicated to my great-great-grandfather Manuel Bernard.
He was born in 1847 in Ponta Delgada, Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
The words are in (beginner) Portuguese:
Eu gosto de falar
no meus ancestrais
de as ilhas Atlânticas
Madeiras e Açores

Portugal is the westernmost country in Europe, with its back to it geographically and culturally. It was the edge of the known world for Europeans until the Age of Discovery. The Azores islands are even further west.
As a teenager, Manuel Bernard stowed away on a passing American whaling ship.
From a remote island in the Atlantic ocean, he ended up on an equally remote island in the Pacific – on the opposite side of the world, in Wellington, New Zealand.
Continue reading “ilhas Atlânticas”Glimpses of Utopia (2020)
Palette-cleansing electric solo improvisations.
Listen
About
Recorded solo in Featherston, New Zealand, 2019-20.
Not specifically a ‘lockdown album’, but nonetheless recorded solo at home during the pandemic.
It marked the emergence of a new ‘late period‘ solo style.
I’m not a trained jazz musician, but nor do I fit neatly into the ‘NZ noise‘ genre.
Tracklist
| 1. | Abbadebdab 03:00 |
| 2. | October ring 03:37 |
| 3. | 11 through the viewer 7 (acoustic) 01:24 |
| 4. | Torrential logistics 04:05 |
| 5. | Usquebaugh 03:53 |
| 6. | Walking through an aye (in Paparoa national park) 03:53 |
| 7. | Solstice Shards 19 05:07 |
| 8. | Teenager 01:39 |










































































































































