Other Islands: 2012-2018

fiffdimension vol3

brings us into the current decade – with further wide-ranging experimentation and exploration sonically, temporally and geographically, in New Zealand, Western Australia, Indonesia, Okinawa (Japan), and Fiji.

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 by my great-great-grandfather John Collie (1856),

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

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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.

安里屋ユンタオーバードライブ Asadoya Yunta Overdrive (Okinawa), 2015

in the non-idiomatic idiom in Norway (1999/2014)

And hear the previous compilations

Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005

2016 roundup

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

Continue reading “2016 roundup” →

Viti Levu, Fiji

My first visit to a Pacific island country, apart from my own (though the term is ambiguous – I’m not counting Australia, Indonesia or Japan). I’d always wanted to visit Fiji, due to family connections… I may have even been conceived there. A week’s visit to Viti Levu, the largest and most populated island, in September was all too short but still a great introductory taster.

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First stop was Nadi, Continue reading “Viti Levu, Fiji” →

Indonesia Festival at Te Papa

Two audience videos at the Indonesia Festival at Te Papa national museum in Wellington, NZ:

Gamelan music, in styles from Bali by Gamelan Taniwha Jaya

and central Java by Gamelan Padhang Moncar.

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Te Marae, Level 4
Sunday 23 October 2016, 10am-5pm

This was a full day of music, dance, song, and batik fashion from Indonesia.

Continue reading “Indonesia Festival at Te Papa” →

The Electricka Zoo – live in Cuba Mall

The Electricka Zoo performed a battery-powered guerilla gig in Wellington last Friday.

We’re taking a break for the rest of this month to travel separately overseas, but look forward to bringing you some gig announcements for the last third of 2016… as well as these tunes we’re working on coalescing into an album.

Gamelan Jadi Mata Kuliah di Selandia Baru

Gamelan Padhang Moncar featured on Metro TV news in Indonesia today.

Happy Indonesian Independence Day, 17th August!

The Digitator

The Digitator: New Zealand Producer, Songwriter, Vocalist, Drummer, Synth Driver, Live Looping Musician.

A fellow traveller from Taranaki, New Zealand, who formed The Electricka Zoo in late 2015 with Dave Black.
Continue reading “The Digitator” →

Gamelan Padhang Moncar, 18th June

All-Day Multicultural Event

Saturday 18th June 2016, 10am-5pm

St Patrick’s College Hall, Kilbirnie

A small gadon group from Gamelan Padhang Moncar will perform at this festival, which will feature a wide range of performances from many cultural groups (European and Māori, Pacific and Asian) as well food stalls and face-painting. More information here.

This event is to raise funds for the seismic strengthening of their historic building which is currently a busy building site rather than a place of worship.

Gamelan Padhang Moncar – 11:30am (followed by Indonesian dancers)

Gamelan Padhang Moncar have in the past held some very special music events at the church of St Mary of the Angels, involving their wonderful choir (Vita Brevis and Darkness to Light).

East to West in Southland

East to West will be screening this Saturday in Invercargill, as part of the Southland Arts Festival. I’ll be there in person to add some live musical accompaniment.

See www.creativesouthland.co.nz

East to West takes the audience on a journey half way around the world from New Zealand, across Australia, via a dozen countries including Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Russia, Albania, Portugal and more.

This will be my first performance in Southland, and my first South Island project in nearly a decade – see also South Island Sessions

The Electricka Zoo

http://www.fiffdimension.com/the-electricka-zoo

https://soundcloud.com/fiffdimension/sets/the-electrickazoo

IMG_20160102_154834 This duo from Taranaki formed in late 2015 following an extended 15 year incubatory period. Roots in rock and electronica, The Electricka Zoo will leave you wondering if you should dance along, close your eyes, or just scratch your head in wonder how two people can produce such a wall of sound.