Solitude

‘SOLITUDE’

by John Collie, 1856

OH give me near some swelling stream to stray, 0r tread the windings of some pathless wood, For I am wearied of the bustling day, And long to meet thee, gloomy Solitude: That I with thee may climb those shelfy steeps, Which frown majestic o’er the boiling deeps. Continue reading “Solitude” →

Sonnet on Summer

A duo with my nephew, Hans Landon-Lane, from Poems & Lyrics by John Collie (1856)

Rosemary Bromley, Dave Edwards, Hans Landon-Lane

Clever Hansel – ukulele vocal
Dave Edwards – guitar, harmonica, vocal

This was the last in-person collaboration before the COVID-19 shutdown, recorded in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, March 2020.

THE sweet breath of summer blows fresh o’er each plain,

The woods have resumed their lost grandeur again;

The groves with the notes of the blackbird are ringing,

By fountain and streamlet the wild ﬂowers are springing.

And the breath of the heather bell sweetens the breeze,

And the old stormy ocean lies slumbering in peace;

And the wild bees are humming around the wild ﬂowers,

Afar above earth the lark proudly soars;

The bleat of the lamb on the moss-cover’d hill,

The sound of the shepherd’s pipe jocund and shrill,

All tell in a language most striking and plain,

T hat summer, fair summer, is reigning again,

The old face of nature her smiles has put on,

And the blustery appearance of winter has ﬂown.

Fiji 1976, by Alastair Edwards

Film footage by my father, Alastair Edwards (1936-2010), in Nadi and around Viti Levu in 1976.

It’s from my parents’ honeymoon, a couple of years before I was born.

There was no sound, so I’ve added a soundtrack from Ruasagavulu, which Dr Emit Snake-Beings and I recorded in Suva decades later.

My Dad’s interest in film (then video) and photography was one of the key influences on my own travel and videomaking. He was doing this long before youtube or instagram!

I miss you Dad…

First Time Around: South Korea

Before there was ‘Gangnam Style’ there was

– field recordings, electro-acoustic ethnography, Asian industrial soundscapes

by kiwis in South Korea, 2007–2008

Credits

released July 1, 2008

Dave Black – field recordings, laptop, gayageum, loops, bass, acoustic guitar, vocal

Cylvi M – tangso, shakuhachi, shaker, vocal

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www.fiffdimension.com/category/korea
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL26D01AF2105C675D

Further listening

Continue reading “First Time Around: South Korea” →

Ruasagavulu – with Snake Beings in Fiji

Made in Suva, Fiji – the new album by Dave Black & Dr Emit Snake-Beings

“So easy to get totally lost in this music, recommend for helping with your inner peace” – Andi Verse

Indo-Fijian inspired tropical devotional avant-garde instrumentals for keyboards, ukulele, dholak, duduk, harmonicas, DIY kitchen gamelan, and video.

This was one of the last in-person international collaborations from before the world ended.

The title ‘ruasagavulu’ means ‘twenty’ in Fijian, to kick off the new decade.

recorded in Suva, Fiji, 2nd November 2019

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Further listening

Our first duo recording was ‘Ngumbang‘ (2015) –

Continue reading “Ruasagavulu – with Snake Beings in Fiji” →

New Year’s Day 2020

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A post shared by Dave Edwards (@fiffdimension)

Ruasagavulu – with Snake Beings in Fiji

Made in Suva, Fiji – the new album by Dave Black & Dr Emit Snake-Beings

“So easy to get totally lost in this music, recommend for helping with your inner peace” – Andi Verse

Meditative tropical avant-garde instrumentals for keyboards, ukulele, dholak, duduk, harmonicas, DIY kitchen gamelan, and video. This was one of the last in-person international collaborations from before the world ended.

This is currently a pre-order work in progress, as some of the mixes will be refined over the next few weeks.

The title ‘ruasagavulu’ means ‘twenty’ in Fijian, to kick off the new decade.

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A new sound for 2020 perhaps?

In the meantime have a listen to the ‘Ngumbang‘ album we made together in 2015 – Continue reading “Ruasagavulu – with Snake Beings in Fiji” →

The Land of My Youth (by John Collie, 1856)

Poem by John Collie (1834-1893),

from his book Poems and Lyrics in the English and Scotch Dialects, published in Banffshire, Scotland in 1856

Performed by his great-great-grandson Dave Edwards on banjo at Wairarapa TV in Masterton, New Zealand, 4 May 2019.

John Collie emigrated to New Zealand in 1858. This poem seems to anticipate his leaving Scotland forever, to start a new life in a new country on the opposite side of the world.

Continue reading “The Land of My Youth (by John Collie, 1856)” →

아리랑

Live 4th May 2019 at Wairarapa TV May Music Marathon –

Banjo rendition of a Korean folk tune 아리랑 (“Arirang”). The banjo is not typically found in Korean music – this would normally be played on a gayageum.