1856 to 2026 – DIY outsider music, from Aotearoa NZ and beyond
Guy Walker – turntables, cassettes (right channel)
Dave Edwards – bass, guitar, e-drum (left channel)
Recorded at the Bakehouse, Featherston NZ, 18/09/25
Continue reading “Featherston Free Sound Ensemble: First Experiments (2025)”Songs of the seasons, the forest and the sea, home and exile, mortality and immortality:
an adaptation of the book, “Poems and Lyrics (in the English and Scotch dialects)“ by John Collie, of Boyndie (1834-1893), with music by his descendants in New Zealand, between 2020-2025
“Songs from the harp and lyre – a fantastic flow back from the ancient days” – Dr Emit Snake-Beings
The album includes collaborations with my nephew Hans Landon-Lane, plus guest appearances by Antony Milton and 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
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
Continue reading “Poems & Lyrics (in the English dialect) (1856)”Songs of alcohol, death, the devil, rebellion, kinship, and love gone awry, from 19th century Scotland:
an adaptation of the book, “Poems and Lyrics (in the English and Scotch dialects)“ by John Collie, of Boyndie (1834-1893),
with music by his descendants, between 2018-2025 in New Zealand and France.
โSongs from the harp and lyre โ a fantastic flow back from the ancient daysโ โย 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
Continue reading “Poems & Lyrics (in the Scotch dialect) (1856)”“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…”
Latest release from The Troubled Timesโฆ weirdly ‘relevant’ this year. And available on cassette.
A new collection of songs for the Times.
Starting off with a weirdly upbeat track recorded pre- US election the tone drifts somewhat astray as the collection proceeds.
Trying to find purpose amongst all the doom scrolling.
The Troubled Times‘ first recording session of 2025.
Dave on guitar and Antony on bass this time – a role reversal from our usual instruments – resulted in a distinctly different flavoured improv… a frenetic scratchiness.
David Heath – drums (2-7), bass (8)
Dave Edwards – electric guitars, harmonica (6)
Antony Milton – bass (1-7), vocal (6), drums (8)
Recorded 20 January 2025, in Masterton, Aotearoa/NZ
Continue reading “The Troubled Times: dDA (2025)”
Happy new year! So far, in the early weeks of 2025, I‘ve:
Following the 25th anniversary of fiffdimension in 2023, it was in some ways tempting to leave it there, and retire…
… but I soon found myself creating new music in 2024:
January: Solo suite for electric guitar, bass and electronic percussion.
April: New combination of old free improv collaborators Simon O’Rorke and Antony Milton.
โA virtual infusion of โants-in-the-pantsโ for the entomologically deficient.โ โAntony Milton
โThe album blends Antony Miltonโs and my styles, with Dave Edwards often occupying a pivotal midpoint. Itโs an exhilarating session.โ โ Simon OโRorke
June-August: A pair of new albums from The Troubled Times (trio with Antony Milton and David Heath):
The Latest Poll marked a departure into semiacoustic freak folk; whereas Boa leaned more towards noisy electric rock.
June-July: Recorded a couple more of my ancestor’s poems for this epic acoustic/folk work-in-progress (& hoping to finish it off this summer when my nephews visit):
September: A long-overdue return (after six years!) to live performance in Wellington, and The Troubled Times‘ first appearance there at the Pyramid Club.
October: A career-spanning longform interview, telling my life story and the background influences behind the music.
October: An international performance across the ditch :
The Sydney performance can now be heard on the Live 2022-24 album:
November: A new solo 7″ on vinyl (first one since 2016):
“Some seriously scrambled dissonance. 80โs vocals hits 60โs electro/cut-up nonsense whilst smothering an ever mutating bassline […] the track contains more musical ideas in its 5 mins than some exhibit in musical careers.” – Simon Baker, What Lies Beneath
December: A thoughtful birthday present (thanks Talei!): a t-shirt featuring the cover art from The Troubled Times’ A Second Sun album.
I also enjoyed a visit to my hometown of New Plymouth (& hope to play a gig there next time!)
Available on cassette or download –
The Latest Poll is the debut release for the new Troubled Times Tapes imprint, which will be releasing music by, and associated with, The Troubled Times.
A rare session out of Antony Milton‘s garage and into his lounge due to the frigid winter conditions. Also a departure from our usual psychedelic garage rock sound – we left our regular instruments behind and played mainly what was at hand, resulting in completely different sonic textures:
The result is a freakish free-folk psychedelic synth pop shambles that also somehow creates a comfy abode, a shelter from the stormy stormy night.
released June 13, 2024
Continue reading “The Troubled Times: The Latest Poll”Early 2024 – the first new recordings made since the 25-year-spanning 2CD compilation; the start of the fiffdimension 2nd quarter-century.
By Dave Edwards– early 2024, summertime in NZ –
Solo suite for electric guitar, bass and electric drums – one single take of each, using overdubs to create a virtual trio.
Tracks 1-3 and 12 recorded early January 2024 – the rest recorded 6th February 2024, in Featherston, Aotearoa / New Zealand
The title ‘Quietism‘ refers not so much to the sound, but to the absence of vocals – or any reference to current news or politics. Part of the fiffdimension aesthetic is a certain wilful irrelevance, and ignoring of trends.
The last track ‘Hypnopompia‘ (waking up) experiments with a possible new ambient style.
The cover art is an abstract scribble drawing – attempting to bypass conscious self-doubt and create ‘something… anything’. A theme also explored in works such as Assembling Disconsonant (2023).
Celebrating 25 years of fiffdimension!
A collection of short tracks by Dave Edwards and collaborators.
“Double disc collection of more than two decadesโ 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. Itโs 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 noiseโฆ thereโs something here for everybody. A good intro to Daveโs dauntingly deep discography.”
– Howard Stelzer, Noisy Bandcamp.
Produced by Antony Milton; and features Paul Winstanley, Chris OโConnor, Simon OโRorke,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.
Continue reading “2CD compilation 1998โ-โ2023”“Electric (Yang)/Acoustic (Yin)ย boasts some wildly different tracks; short instrumentals (the guitar and percussion ofย King Street Boogie, the piano and birdsong ofย Tui and Grey Sky, the guitar, rain, and bucket- possibly oboe too- ofย Classical Rain Bucket), song-length instrumentals (the gorgeous and floatyย Kalbarri Coastline, the spaced-out psychedelia ofย Shuffling The Tarot,ย October Ringโs sweet little guitar melody being countered by its evil twin sowing dissent and discord), spoken word over free-forming instruments (After The Filmshootย describing either a spiritual experience or very good drugsโฆ or both,ย @Bomb The Spaceย sounding like a guitar being attacked,ย Ornery Return Cravingsย spoken over sheer instrumental chaos), and occasionally, songs too (the stripped-back post-punk glory ofย Tony Was Here, the slithery, smoky, speakeasy feel ofย Cafes In Conversation,ย Invernoย creeping in like a fever-dream of The Cramps, and the beautiful, emotionally-chargedย 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 onย Stromatolites, toย Wealth And Richesย that sounds for all the world like a battle to the death between a drumkit and a horde of toy robots.
“He doesnโt seem to so much want to push boundaries, as to act like heโs 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
