w/ snakebeings: East to West (Live 2014)

The live debut of Dave Black & Snake Beings, at the Audio Foundation in Auckland, NZ in 2014; and an epic journey half-way around the world, across Eurasia.

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Two itinerant New Zealanders, playing a soundtrack to travel videos by each, collected over years spent living abroad.

The soundtrack infused noise and free improvisation with field recordings and world music elements.

(Track 4 first appeared on fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/album/ngumbang-2015;
we met up again a few years later in Fiji, and recorded fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/album/ruasagavulu-fiji-2020)

credits

released July 10, 2026

Dave Edwards – acoustic guitar, sanshin, clarinet, melodica, vocal, field recordings, video
www.fiffdimension.com/ethnomusicology

Emit Snake-Beings – percussion, electronics, duduk, zither, field recordings, video
snakebeings.co.nz

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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

Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia, 2014
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Borobudur temple, Central Java, Indonesia
Javanese shadow puppets, Indonesia, 2014
Javanese shadow puppets, Indonesia
Javanese shadow puppets, Indonesia
Javanese shadow puppets, Indonesia
Javanese shadow puppets, Indonesia
Javanese shadow puppets, Indonesia
Javanese shadow puppets, Indonesia
Javanese shadow puppets, Indonesia
Javanese gamelan, Indonesia
Javanese gamelan, Indonesia
Javanese gamelan, Indonesia
Central Java, Indonesia
Central Java, Indonesia
Javanese shadow puppets, Indonesia
Central Java, Indonesia
Central Java, Indonesia
Central Java, Indonesia
Central Java, Indonesia
Central Java, Indonesia
Central Java, Indonesia
Central Java, Indonesia
Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia
Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia
Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia
Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia
Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia
Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia
Central Java, Indonesia
Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia

Bali and Nusa Penida

Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Central Java, Indonesia
Nusa Penida, Indonesia
An endangered Bali Starling, Nusa Penisa, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Bali, Indonesia
Nusa Penida, Indonesia

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

1.	Gamelan Taniwha Jaya – Gareth Farr: Mummy, do monsters clean their teeth? (2010) (bonus) 01:20
2.	Gamelan Sekar Puri – Ladrang (ayum jantan dari Perth?) 02:14
3.	Borobudur ke Kraton ke Prambanan (Yogyakarta) 04:08
4.	Gamelan Pura Mangkunegaran – Slendro dan pelog (?) 04:00
5.	snakebeings + fiffdimension – Kuningan dan perunggu 02:50
6.	Gamelan Taniwha Jaya – Gopala (Bali) (live at NZ School of Music, 2015) 01:15
7.	Ubud scenes (Bali) 02:30
8.	Nat da Hatt + fiffdimension – Lost in the Monkey Forest 03:47
9.	snakebeings + fiffdimension – East to West: Indonesia (live at the Audio Foundation, 2014) 04:33
10.	snakebeings + fiffdimension – Sampak Membengkak 03:41
11.	Gamelan Padhang Moncar – Ladrang Slament Slendro Manyura + Ketawang Sinom Parijata 02:01
12.	Gamelan Padhang Moncar – Nusantara (live at Te Papa, 2016) 02:29
13.	Gamelan Padhang Moncar – Improvisasi (di musim panis Wairarapa) 01:49
14.	Dimensi keempat dan kelima (2023) 08:13
15.	Gamelan Taniwha Jaya – Teruna Jaya (live at Te Papa, 2016) 01:00

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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).

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in the non-idiomatic idiom in Norway (part 2, 2014)

A few years ago I wrote a chapter of Jazz Aotearoa, a book about New Zealand jazz music history, discussing the free improvisation and avant-garde jazz scene in Wellington at the turn of the millennium.

in the non-idiomatic idiom in Norway is a collection of improvised instrumental music with some of the musicians in that scene, from the point of view of my own attempts as an untrained outsider to fit in with these advanced jazz players.

The title is a reference to Simon’s house on Norway Street, where the recordings took place. The ‘non idiomatic idiom’ suggests the paradox that improvising non-idiomatically (eg in an original personal style without reference to any genre – playing neither jazz, nor rock, blues, reggae, classical etc) is an idiom in itself.

Confluence Quintet: (l-r) Julie Bevan, Michael Hall, Simon O’Rorke, Chris Prosser, Dave Edwards

with

Simon O’Rorke – synthesisers

Blair Latham – bass clarinet
Julie Bevan – acoustic guitar
Michael Hall – alto sax
Chris Prosser – violin
Dave Edwards – bass, electronics, tenor sax (8)

These sessions were recorded in 2014. I’d just returned from living overseas, 15 years after my first exposure to Wellington free jazz.

The first volume was recorded in Wellington in 1999

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Other Islands: 2012-2018

“The 20 song album covers traditional Javanese and Balinese gamelan, Asian folk music, to free jazz, and free noise. It’s not for anyone with narrow preconceived ideas about what music is, but it is for everyone else.

“If you have an open inquiring mind and love hearing a variety of sound, this is excellent.” – Darryl Baser, muzic.net.nz

fiffdimension compilation vol3 – (see also Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005, Fame & Oblivion: 2005-2012, and águas Brilhantes: 2018-2022)
Made in New Zealand, Okinawa (Japan), Western Australia, Indonesia, and Fiji.

Includes tracks by The Winter, Dave Black & Nat da Hatt, Confluence Quintet, Gamelan Sekar Puri, Gamelan Padhang Moncar, Gamelan Taniwha Jaya, The Electricka Zoo, Dave Black & Snake Beings, Dave Black & Campbell Kneale.

by Dave Black (acoustic & electric guitars, banjo, harmonica, laptop, bass, tenor saxophone, field recordings, piano, ukulele, sanshin, saron, jublag, demung, vocal), with

Mike Kingston (charango, acoustic guitar),
Simon Sweetman (percussion),
Nat da Hatt (electric guitar, keyboards, banjo),
Emit Snake-Beings (banjo, vocal, percussion, flute, electronics),
the Digitator (electric drums, keyboards & loops),
Campbell Kneale (electric guitar, analogue synthesiser),
Cylvi M (vocal, field recordings, percussion, shakuhachi),
Blair Latham (bass clarinet),
Simon O’Rorke (keyboards),
Chris Prosser (violin),
Julie Bevan (acoustic guitar),
plus Indonesian gamelan ensembles led by Sofari Hidayat, Budi Putra, and Gareth Farr,

a song written by my great-great-grandfather John Collie (1856),

and field recordings from Western Australia, Indonesia, Okinawa (Japan), and Fiji.

Featuring tracks from the albums

The Winter: Flying Visit (2012)
in the non-idiomatic idiom in Norway (1999/2014)
ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes (2010-15)
Ngumbang (2014-15)
The Winter: Exit Points (2015)
The Electricka Zoo (2017)
and previously unheard tracks.

If you enjoy this, try the previous compilations

Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005

Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Here’s video from my two visits to Indonesia in 2014 – a fascinating new country that I’m only just beginning to explore, and can continue to do so through gamelan (like Indonesia itself it gets more complex & interesting the more you look).

Partly because I’ve visited several countries in East Asia now, and lived in two (Japan and South Korea), Indonesia seems like something else entirely. It’s less Chinese-influenced and has a style of its own.

[Diary from September] This trip was just enough for an introductory sampler. I decided to focus on the arts this time rather than the mountains, ocean and jungle which would require more time, money and preparation.

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I had mixed results in my cultural studies mission this morning. Continue reading “Yogyakarta, Indonesia” →

2014 roundup

Bye 2014 – overall a pretty good year here.

Most importantly we put out two new albums in contrasting styles: ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes and in the non-idiomatic idiom in Norway.

The first was a composed Japanese psychedelic rock album while the second showcased the free improvised music I’d been influenced by in my earlier years in Wellington.

It was also a good year for travel to southeast Asia: I visited Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia for the first time… and I finally returned home to New Zealand after two years living in Western Australia and a year before that in Okinawa.

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Continue reading “2014 roundup” →

Dada Songwriting: Rejection dryrot ripple Gombage

Dave and Cylvi contributed to Postmoderncore‘s first volume of Dada Songwriting Compilation, Rejection dryrot ripple Gombage.

Condo Encyclopedia coalseam egg 2:02

by Uneasy Chairs (USA, guitar) / T4x0n0m13s (España, bass + distortion pedal) / Dave Black (NZ, banjo) / Cylvi Manthyng (NZ, shaker)

Download entire album / View album at archive.org

Each contributor created two mins of raw sound – a single track recorded live with no post-processing. After each set of four tracks arrived, they were blindly put together to create each track – as & when they arrived in Corporal Tofulung’s inbox.
The title of the album was created by writing the 40 contributed words on individual pieces of paper & drawing them randomly out of a bucket. Continue reading “Dada Songwriting: Rejection dryrot ripple Gombage” →

Little India, Singapore

A major highlight of 2014 for me was visiting some new parts of Southeast Asia. I enjoyed the Tamil Indian culture in Singapore and Malaysia, which has sated my curiosity for India itself for the moment.

The sensory overload of the Hindu temples was an intriguing contrast from the elegant minimalism of the Japanese approach, and the mix of Indian, Chinese and Malay cultures is like having three different Asian countries in one.