The Troubled Times: Unsteady GroundThe Troubled Times: dDAPoems & Lyrics by John Collie (1856)Ruasagavulu ka lima (Fiji)Featherston Free Sound EnsemblePoems & Lyrics by John Collie (1856)Homo Homini Lupus (compilation)The Troubled Times: Sparkle Tube
“I have been lucky enough to hear some of Dave Edwards work on this at a couple of shows – very cool concept project and worth a listen” – James Trotman
Background
My great-great-grandfather published his book in 1856, before emigrating to New Zealand for the rest of his life.
Discovering this family outsider art precedent in 2018 cast fiffdimension in a whole new light! It sparked a seven-year project to record musical arrangements of his poems for a new century’s audience.
“And with a trembling hand I launch my tiny vessel into the troubled ocean of literature , where many a noble craft has been shattered to pieces…”
Like his better-known countryman (and influence) Robert Burns, John Collie wrote in both English and Scots. The other half of the album is Poems & Lyrics in the Scotch Dialect
“Songs from the harp and lyre – a fantastic flow back from the ancient days” – Dr Emit Snake-Beings
“I have been lucky enough to hear some of Dave Edwards work on this at a couple of shows – very cool concept project and worth a listen” – James Trotman
Background
“And with a trembling hand I launch my tiny vessel into the troubled ocean of literature , where many a noble craft has been shattered to pieces…”
A suite of short acoustic instrumentals and Pacific islands tropical ambience – recorded in the Yasawa islands of Fiji.
Listen
About
Main tracks improvised outdoors on ukulele and lali (log drum), on Tavewa island, early April 2025. Acoustic bass and hand drum overdubbed after returning home.
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!
“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.”
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.
“Electric (Yang)/Acoustic (Yin)boasts some wildly different tracks; short instrumentals (the guitar and percussion ofKing 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‘ssweet little guitar melody being countered by its evil twin sowing dissent and discord), spoken word over free-forming instruments (After The Filmshootdescribing 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
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 theWellington gamelanensembles: 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 Baliand 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;:
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.
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).
“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
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.