2CD compilation 1998​-​2023

Celebrating 25 years of fiffdimension!

Electric (yang) / Acoustic (yin)

A collection of short tracks by Dave Edwards and collaborators.

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.”

Howard Stelzer, Noisy Bandcamp.

Produced by Antony Milton; and features Paul Winstanley, Chris O’Connor, Simon O’Rorke,Chris Palmer, Sam Prebble, Mike Kingston, Francesca Mountfort, Damian Stewart, Emit Snake-Beings, Nat da Hatt, Steve Duffels, and Oscar (the dog).

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.

Review 

Electric (Yang)/Acoustic (Yin) boasts some wildly different tracks; short instrumentals (the guitar and percussion of King 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 TarotOctober Rings sweet little guitar melody being countered by its evil twin sowing dissent and discord), spoken word over free-forming instruments (After The Filmshoot describing 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 ConversationInverno 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

Continue reading “2CD compilation 1998​-​2023”

Gamelan Dimensi Kelima (Indonesia, 2014)

Field recordings and gamelan from my visits to Indonesia in 2014.

As well as the tracks recorded in Indonesia, the album includes gamelan ensembles in Western Australia, and NZ between 2010-2018.

Listen


About

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 the Wellington gamelan ensembles: 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 Bali and 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

Bali and Nusa Penida

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;:

Other collaborators

The album also includes other, more experimental Indonesia-inspired 2010s collaborations with fellow postpunk expat ethnomusicologists:

Tracklist

1.Gamelan Taniwha Jaya – Gareth Farr: Mummy, do monsters clean their teeth? (2010) (bonus) 01:20
2.Gamelan Sekar Puri – Ladrang (ayum jantan dari Perth?) 02:14
3.Borobudur ke Kraton ke Prambanan (Yogyakarta) 04:08
4.Gamelan Pura Mangkunegaran – Slendro dan pelog (?) 04:00
5.snakebeings + fiffdimension – Kuningan dan perunggu 02:50
6.Gamelan Taniwha Jaya – Gopala (Bali) (live at NZ School of Music, 2015) 01:15
7.Ubud scenes (Bali) 02:30
8.Nat da Hatt + fiffdimension – Lost in the Monkey Forest 03:47
9.snakebeings + fiffdimension – East to West: Indonesia (live at the Audio Foundation, 2014) 04:33
10.snakebeings + fiffdimension – Sampak Membengkak 03:41
11.Gamelan Padhang Moncar – Ladrang Slament Slendro Manyura + Ketawang Sinom Parijata 02:01
12.Gamelan Padhang Moncar – Nusantara (live at Te Papa, 2016) 02:29
13.Gamelan Padhang Moncar – Improvisasi (di musim panis Wairarapa) 01:49
14.Dimensi keempat dan kelima (2023) 08:13
15.Gamelan Taniwha Jaya – Teruna Jaya (live at Te Papa, 2016) 01:00
Continue reading “Gamelan Dimensi Kelima (Indonesia, 2014)”

The Winter: 2010

Newly discovered 2010 ‘lost recordings’ by The Winter

An improvised music trio of Mike Kingston, Dave Edwards, and Simon Sweetman

Includes live performances at Fred’s (the only known video of the band), and previously unheard recording sessions on 25-4-10 and 6-6-10.

http://www.fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/album/2010

credits

releases June 6, 2023

Continue reading “The Winter: 2010”

in a wildflower state (Western Australia, 2013)

In late 2012, after leaving Japan, I moved to Australia for the second time – this time to Western Australia for a couple of years…

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.

Videos

Tracklist

1.Didgeridoo overture / overkill 01:47
2.Dry wind (Fremantle doctor) 01:26
3.Nat da Hatt + fiffdimension – The Road to Bogandoor (Australian election 2013 mix) 03:46
4.Sandalwood & Quandong 04:38
5.Ukulele & magpies 01:23
6.Kalgoorlie super pit 04:25
7.Brazilian BBQ (ft Renato Salvador) (bonus) 04:33
8.Rabbit proof fence (bonus) 03:19
9.Nat da Hatt + fiffdimension – The Horror (sports mix) (bonus) 03:35
10.Scabbers’ beach 02:45
11.Cylvi M – Ode to Ed Kuepper 01:06
12.Mundaring Weir 01:49
13.Stomping in Freo (bonus) 02:17
14.Kalbarri coastline 04:55
15.Stromatolites 01:49
16.Inverno ’13 (Indian Ocean sunsets)

Life in Western Australia, 2012-2014

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).

Continue reading “in a wildflower state (Western Australia, 2013)”

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

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

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

Continue reading “águas brilhantes: 2018​-​2022”

ilhas Atlânticas

This track was originally recorded by The Electricka Zoo (2017), and appears on the Other Islands: 2012-2018 compilation. It’s based around a (non-diatonic) Cmaj7 – Amaj7 pattern, with a bossa nova rhythm.

It’s dedicated to my great-great-grandfather Manuel Bernard.

Manuel José Bernard (1847-1928)

He was born in 1847 in Ponta Delgada, Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.

The words are in (beginner) Portuguese:

Eu gosto de falar

no meus ancestrais

de as ilhas Atlânticas

Madeiras e Açores

Portugal is the westernmost country in Europe, with its back to it geographically and culturally. It was the edge of the known world for Europeans until the Age of Discovery. The Azores islands are even further west.

As a teenager, Manuel Bernard stowed away on a passing American whaling ship.

From a remote island in the Atlantic ocean, he ended up on an equally remote island in the Pacific – on the opposite side of the world, in Wellington, New Zealand.

Continue reading “ilhas Atlânticas”

Campbell Kneale & Dave Black: A Ton of Feathers

Listen

About

Campbell Kneale – electric guitar, analogue synthDave Black – bass, electric toothbrush, key ring

One continuous piece, unabridged, no overdubs – the first time we’d played together.

Featherston NZ, 2018.

Two 3min excerpts appear on the compilations Other Islands: 2012-2018

and aguas brilhantes: 2018-2022 :

…but you need to hear the full length version to truly enter Campbell’s world.

Campbell Kneale is an internationally renowned sound artist, a prolific recording artist and performer and relentless collaborator. He currently releases albums as Our Love Will Destroy The World. Previous projects include Black Boned Angel, Birchville Cat Motel, Ming and Brilliant Swords.

Further Listening

Campbell curated the epic 119-track Psi-solation compilation during the Covid-19 pandemic:

Dave contributed an acoustic track, John Collies poem ‘Solitude’ from 1856.

2019 roundup

At the end of the decade, and looking for a way to follow up the eclectic Asia-Pacific Odyssey of Other Islands: 2012-2018, I stripped things back down to the solo acoustic format of my early years with Live 2019.

The set, at Wairarapa TV in Masterton, New Zealand, was streamed live on the internet on 4th of May 2019.

For the past couple of years I’ve been living in a small town and don’t get to as many gigs as I used to… so here was an opportunity to use 21st century technology to play ‘virtually’ everywhere.

On the other hand musically this was closer to a traditional folk/singer-songwriter set than I’d done for quite a while. I eschewed dissonant improv, multitracking, live backing musicians, field recordings, or electronic trickery this time, and used just acoustic guitar, banjo, and harmonica (and a few seconds of wah pedal on ‘Eastern’).

The set was followed by an interview.

I also released a companion album to Live 2019 its stroppier lo-fi postpunk ‘official bootleg’ predecesor Live 1999. This was recorded on cassette 20 years (or half my lifetime) ago, when I opened for Chris Knox at Bar Bodega in Wellington NZ last millennium:

Live 1999

I started and finished both live sets on the same two songs, to show continuity and evolution.

It’s been quite a journey in between!

Other projects

My other 2019 works in progress included

* experiments with animated visuals and electric improvisations (the ‘yang’ flipside of the deliberately toned down ‘yin’ Live 2019)

* a duo with Emit Snake-Beings, for an as-yet-untitled sequel to Ngumbang, coming in 2020 (we had a recording session in Suva, Fiji, of all places);

* a couple of informal jam sessions with the Electricka Zoo (which has otherwise been on hold since last year); ( http://www.soundcloud.com/darrel-hannon/jamming-with-dave)

* and I continued to adapt the 19th century book ‘Poems & Lyrics by John Collie’, which I’d learned was written by my Scottish great-great-grandfather in 1856 before he came to NZ. Three of his poems featured on Live 2019, with more in the pipeline.

Continue reading “2019 roundup”

Huia Vortex

Animated visuals, with electric guitar loops, one-stringed bass, and drums – the opening track from the ‘Ngumbang‘ album (get the free download) – w/ Emit Snake-beings & Nat da Hatt

The title ‘Huia Vortex’ refers to the location where the track was recorded, in Huia, a small village on the outskirts of west Auckland.

Dave Black & Emit Snake-Beings

It’s not necessarily related to ‘Swansong (for the Huia)(2004), the second album by The Winter, an electro-acoustic trio improvisation in tribute to the extinct New Zealand bird the huia by Dave Edwards, Mike Kingston, and Simon Sweetman. Its 19-minute final track remains an underrated fiffdimension epic. [send us your review]

in the non-idiomatic idiom in Norway (part 2, 2014)

978-1-877448-59-1

A few years ago I wrote a chapter of Jazz Aotearoa, a book about New Zealand jazz music history, discussing the free improvisation and avant-garde jazz scene in Wellington at the turn of the millennium.

in the non-idiomatic idiom in Norway is a collection of improvised instrumental music with some of the musicians in that scene, from the point of view of my own attempts as an untrained outsider to fit in with these advanced jazz players.

The title is a reference to Simon’s house on Norway Street, where the recordings took place. The ‘non idiomatic idiom’ suggests the paradox that improvising non-idiomatically (eg in an original personal style without reference to any genre – playing neither jazz, nor rock, blues, reggae, classical etc) is an idiom in itself.

Confluence Quintet: (l-r) Julie Bevan, Michael Hall, Simon O’Rorke, Chris Prosser, Dave Edwards

with

Simon O’Rorke – synthesisers

Blair Latham – bass clarinet
Julie Bevan – acoustic guitar
Michael Hall – alto sax
Chris Prosser – violin
Dave Edwards – bass, electronics, tenor sax (8)

These sessions were recorded in 2014. I’d just returned from living overseas, 15 years after my first exposure to Wellington free jazz.

The first volume was recorded in Wellington in 1999

Continue reading “in the non-idiomatic idiom in Norway (part 2, 2014)”