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

	1.	Nat da Hatt + James Robinson + Dave Black – June’s Lounge, part 2 02:08
	2.	The Electricka Zoo – Inverno (live at Escape Velocity, 2018) 03:47
	3.	Campbell Kneale + fiffdimension – Both Chords 02:07
	4.	Celeste Rochery – My Native Land (John Collie, 1856) 01:56
	5.	The Blast of a Wintry Day (John Collie, 1856 – live at Wairarapa TV, 2019) (bonus) 03:44
	6.	Clever Hansel – Sonnet on Summer (John Collie, 1856) 03:19
	7.	snakebeings + fiffdimension – Walu (Fiji) 03:02
	8.	snakebeings + fiffdimension – Io (Fiji) 01:31
	9.	Larry Irava – Isa Lei Lia (Fiji) 04:38
	10.	Ilhas Atlânticas (Manuel José Bernard, das Flores, 1862) 03:12
	11.	Here’s a Health to my Cronies (John Collie, 1856) 02:46
	12.	Auld Satan when ye first gae through (John Collie, 1856) 02:02
	13.	Logistical Torrents (lockdown 2020) 03:07
	14.	Guitar Ringtone 02:07
	15.	The Troubled Times – Blinking in Daylight (return of the sun, 2021) 03:05
	16.	Clever Hansel – The Land of my Youth (John Collie, 1856) 03:57
	17.	The Troubled Times – Wairarapa Bossa Nova 03:18
	18.	James Robinson + fiffdimension – Old Brain (metadada of Oceania remembering) 03:21
	19.	The Troubled Times – The Dying Monarch (John Collie, 1856) 03:05
	20.	Ilhas novos (do sul) 01:20
	21.	Classical Rain Bucket 01:41
	22.	James Robinson + The Troubled Times – The Edge (a Negentropic Diatribe) 03:25
	23.	Tony Was Here (live at the Miracle Room, 2022) 03:25
	24.	Oscar – Oscar’s Blues 01:28
	25.	By my faith sirs, this canna lang dee (John Collie, 1856) 04:04
	26.	さくらさくら / Paetumokai (Pua pua i te Kōanga) 02:10
	27.	O Henry Ending (live at the Miracle Room, 2022) 08:00

Features previously unreleased recordings, and tracks from

Further listening: the albums

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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,

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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

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.

“As Dave Edwards he has explored fuzzy punk, free-jazz, spoken word, alternative-folk and demented pop… as Dave Black, the palette is broadened” – 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 águas Brilhantes: 2018-2022 covers more recent works made in the Wairarapa and Fiji.

Continue reading →

Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005

A compilation of songs, spoken word and instrumentals from the early phase of my gloriously unsuccessful career:

“Whilst shopping from fiffdimension, make sure to get hold of ‘Gleefully Unknown’ – a best-of compilation of Dave Edwards’ music from 1997 to 2005. Rough outsider folk-blues mysteries, dissonant rock textures, electric and acoustic improvisations…

“Edwards strikes me as one of the most overlooked musicians from the fertile lands of New Zealand and if you need a fresh start this might very well be the place.” – Mats Gustafsson, The Broken Face