East to West brings together for the first time two of New Zealand’s more unusual artist/musician/filmmaker/ethnomusicologists, taking the audience on an epic journey from one side of the Eurasian continent to another in the space of an hour. Continue reading “Dave Black & Snake Beings: East to West”
Category: 2010s
ใใชใณๅ่ปใฎ้ขจๆฏ Neon Train Landscapes (Japan, 2012)
Music by Dave Black & Nat da Hatt – two New Zealanders living in Japan. ๆฅฝใใใใจใใงใใพใ!
Listen
About
Like ๆฅๆฌ itself, this music offers a surrealistic fusion of ancient and modern. released 31 January 2014
Crossing the Japan Alps
As well as recording music together, we completed a six-day hiking mission across the northern alps in July 2012, from Kamikochi to Toyama.
Asadoya Yunta Overdrive (Okinawa)
The album closes with our rendition of a traditional Okinawa shima uta (island song). It’s a tribute to Japan’s southernmost island prefecture, where Dave lived in 2011/12. The ‘overdrive’ is a tribute to early Pink Floyd, reflecting the psychedelic update of the tune.
Credits
Nat da Hatt – electric & acoustic guitars, drum machine, synths, laptop, samples
Dave Black – bass, banjo, acoustic guitar (5), electric guitar (3), loop pedal, electronics, laptop, field recordings
Tracklist
Further listening: see ethnomusicology
Dave solo trip across Kyushu, March 2012
Nat da Hatt solo albums
Other duo tracks
Nat da Hatt also contributes guest tracks to
in a Wildflower State (WA, 2013)
and
Gamelan Dimensi Kelima (Indonesia, 2014)
Fame & Oblivion: 2005-2012
“This is something that he has to do, that he will do, come fame or oblivion” –Chris Knox
- Made in New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, and Japan.
- Includes tracks by Ascension Band, The Winter, Cylvi M, Wellington’s Most Famous Orchestra of Miraculous Delights, Dave Black & Nat da Hatt.
โAs Dave Edwards he has explored fuzzy punk, free-jazz, spoken word, alternative-folk and demented popโฆ as Dave Black, the palette is broadenedโ โ Simon Sweetman
by Dave Black (acoustic & electric guitars, banjo, harmonica, laptop, bass, tenor saxophone, field recordings, piano, gayageum, vocal), with
- Mike Kingston (acoustic guitar),
- Simon Sweetman (percussion),
- Nat da Hatt (electric guitar, keyboards),
- Cylvi M (vocal, field recordings, percussion, shakuhachi),
- Hayden Gifkins (electric guitar),
- Nigel Patterson (hammond organ),
- Ryan Prebble (tone generator),
- Matthew Thornicroft (electric guitar),
- Jeff Henderson (drums),
- Noel Meek (vocal),
- Hans Landon-Lane (ukulele)
- and field recordings from Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, and Japan.
“Experimental and avant-garde…. There is a clear passion, and a commitment to pushing the boundaries… This will challenge your perceptions of what constitutes music and open the mind to new possibilities of sounds that surround us – muzic.net.nz“
- This is a sequel to the Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005 compilation.
- The third part of the trilogy, Other Islands: 2012-2018, documents my return to NZ via other Asia-Pacific countries,
- A fourth volume รกguas Brilhantes: 2018-2022 covers more recent works made in the Wairarapa and Fiji.
The Winter: Flying Visit (2012)
Acoustic instrumental music by Wellington, New Zealand, improvising trio The Winter.
Mike Kingston: charango, guitar, clarinet
Dave Edwards: ukulele, sanshin, tenor sax, piano
Simon Sweetman: xylophone, percussion
The Winter: 2011
Liner notes
The Winter of YOUR discontent
June 10, 2013 โข 10:47am
It was 10 years ago nearly to the day that I had my first jam as part of a group of musicians that would go on to take the name The Winter. The name coming from the day we first got together, 2003’s winter solstice.
I listened back to Parataxes last night for the first time in ages. I wouldn’t say I ever made a habit of listening to it, but as with other recordings I’ve made it gets trotted out from time to time. Very occasional, but I couldn’t tell you I’d never listened to it, or that I’ll never listen to it again.
The Winter has became somewhat infamous in the life ofย Blog on the Tracksย because every time a group of fans get upset with me for picking on their band, a clip from YouTube is circulated suggesting that I cannot play music at all; the band I’m working with is not in tune and not playing anything resembling a song.
I’ve felt a little sad about this only in that it compromises the two other musicians in The Winter. They don’t deserve the abuse but are presumably trialled on a guilty-by-association tip. But I’m fair game. I front up and say things about music. It’d be a bit rich if I couldn’t handle people saying things about mine.
So I figured I should share that post here – and the link to the album to stream or download (both of which I have provided links to above). Have at it. But be warned…you might instead prefer to run to the hills.
Ten years on it was strange listening to this music. It’s improvised music, avant-garde perhaps, or experimental. These are tags that others have used. It might well be the biggest load of s**t you ever hear. That’s fine. I’ve never hidden from this – nor any of the other music I’ve had a hand in. But I understand that I’m an easy target with this platform.
The music on Parataxes and the early jams with The Winter were really important for me – an extension of my appreciation for free and improvised musics – free-jazz/noise/ambient – a lot of free/improv passed me by when I first tried turning an ear to it. But I found it. I found the bits and pieces I liked. And part of appreciating it was having a go at it. My go. With The Winter.
It was the most challenging – and freeing – that a playing experience has ever been. I was so scared the first time we performed live at the Photospace Gallery. I’m sitting there with toy percussion instruments, found pieces, old drum parts scattered around me. And I have no idea what I’m going to do with them – beyond bang at them. It was so stupid of me. But it was great. I loved it.
I made good friends from playing in The Winter – we still catch up, make music now and then, or maybe to you it’s not music at all. That’s fine. We have a cup of tea and a chat and we make our pieces of music – music that makes sense to us. We use different instruments every time. And nothing is ever the same. Nothing’s repeated, nothing’s played the same way twice. But it always sounds like us. Over the past 10 years and a handful of scattered performances we found our sound. And I’m really glad we did. It helped me to appreciate the world’s great improvisers; it has put me on to some amazing music and taught me a lot about myself.
Soย here you go – The Winter: 10 Years On…
As the saying goes, I’ve suffered for my art. Now it’s your turn.
Postscript:ย Word Count for this post: 660
Continue reading “The Winter: 2011”
Okinawa, Japan ๆฒ็ธๆฅๆฌ
ใใคใตใค! ใคใใฃใชใ ใใงใ! ใใใใ ใใญใใใใพใใ ใใ-ใญใ ้ฃ่ฆๅธใซ ใใใงใใพใใ ใจ ใซใปใใ ใกใใฃใจ ในใใใใใพใใใ
In 2011-2012 I lived in Naha (้ฃ่ฆๅธ), the main city of Okinawa Prefecture (ๆฒ็ธ็) in Japan (ๆฅๆฌ).
Nat da Hatt and I recorded a track for our duo album ใใชใณๅ่ปใฎ้ขจๆฏ Neon Train Landscapes there – our version of a traditional shima uta (island song)
The Ryukyu Islands are a whole other world from mainland Japan – there’s no Mt Fuji, samurai, sumo wrestling, geisha or shinkansen. They have a different culture, food, climate and music – more tropical and laidback, the Hawaii of northeast Asia, with jungle, sugar cane, beautiful sea and coral – umi to sango wa totemo kirei desu ne – and wonderful people and tragic history.
Continue reading “Okinawa, Japan ๆฒ็ธๆฅๆฌ”Kyushu, Japan ไนๅทๆฅๆฌ
Videos from a solo trip across Kyushu (in March 2012, on holiday from work in Okinawa).ย Accompanied by Japanese music such as koto, shakuhachi, yokagura and hip-hop, recorded live.
Four videos –
1) from sugi (Japanese cedar) forest with 3000-year-old trees on Yakushima Island,
2) heading north via Kumamoto and its castle, to
3) a yokagura dance performance reenacting the legend of how the sun goddess returned to the world in Takachiho,
4) to the ย city of Fukuoka (score by Dave Black & Nat da Hatt – free download)
Crossing the Japan Alps ้ฃ้จจๅฑฑ่ๆฅๆฌ
Music, video and hiking by Dave Black and Nat da Hatt – two New Zealanders living in Japan.
We crossed the Hida mountains in six days, losing a few kg along the way, and passed through ้ท้็(Nagano), ๅฒ้็ (Gifu), and ๅฏๅฑฑ็ (Toyama) prefectures.
fiffdimension 
