Spastic Rhythms vol1 (2021)

A quickfire Dave Black solo EP, recorded one summer morning, 24 January 2021

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It includes ilhas Atlânticas, a tribute to my Portuguese ancestor Manuel Bernard.

Tracklist

1.	banjo trio 24/1/21 03:01
2.	drums 1 24/1/21 00:49
3.	guitar trio (ringtone) 24/1/21 02:07
4.	gritches blerk 24/1/21 01:12
5.	spastic drum solo 24/1/21 04:38
6.	ilhas Atlânticas 03:12
7.	Outono 21 08:49

Further Listening

The album adds banjo and electric drums to the 2020s Wairarapa DIY solo electric improv style begun in

Glimpses of Utopia (2020)

The first of the ‘late period’ solo instrumental albums.

águas brilhantes: 2018-2022

A compilation of tracks from the Wairarapa in these years.

“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

16 February @ Fernside Gardens Open Days

I played solo acoustic at the Fernside Gardens Open Day on Sunday 16th February, 11am.

Continue reading “16 February @ Fernside Gardens Open Days” →

Live 2019

An acoustic solo set, live at Wairarapa TV in Masterton, New Zealand

– which took place live on the internet. This was simulcast on Freeview CH41, ArrowFM 89.7FM and YouTube. The set was part of the Property Law Service May Music Marathon – 12 straight hours of live Music to Television screens during NZ Music Month on May the 4th 2019.

Tracklist

1.	Cafes in Conversation 01:19
2.	Seafriends 03:09
3.	Summer Skin 05:08
4.	Eastern 03:00
5.	아리랑 (Arirang) 01:11
6.	The Blast of a Wintry Day (by John Collie, 1856) 03:55
7.	The Land of My Youth (by John Collie, 1856) 02:49
8.	Here’s a Health to My Cronies (by John Collie, 1856) 02:19
9.	The Marion Flow 03:33
10.	fiffdimension interview by Nikki King 16:12

About

Living in a small town I don’t get to as many gigs as I used to… so here using 21st century technology to play ‘virtually’ everywhere.

Masterton, New Zealand

On the other hand, musically this was closer to a traditional folk/singer-songwriter set than I’d done for quite a while, eschewing dissonant improv, multitracking, live backing musicians or electronic trickery.

I kept my half hour minimal and acoustic (the discord and electric noise I’m saving for another time soon) and updated my past – with

Continue reading →

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.

Busan, South Korea

Korean gayageum, 2007

Continue reading “아리랑” →

The Land of My Youth (by John Collie, 1856), January 2019 demo

January 2019, looking for a new sound and a new project – after completing Other Islands: 2012-2018.

It’s a poem by John Collie (1834-1893), my great-great-grandfather

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

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.

In May I performed it live on Wairarapa TV.

Lyrics

Continue reading “The Land of My Youth (by John Collie, 1856), January 2019 demo” →

2005

The year got off to a good start, with Ascension Band: Evolution

The successful collaboration with Nigel Patterson, Ryan Prebble, and over a dozen other musicians, from jazz-schooled to untrained punks, won the best music award in the NZ Fringe Festival.

I had my first taste of success (the fame part of Fame & Oblivion 2005-2012)…

…But by this time I was ready to see the world beyond Aotearoa. I shifted across the Tasman Sea to Melbourne – in Australia, the West Island.

For the next few months I lived in Brunswick, and worked in temp jobs around the city and in rural Victoria.

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The results became After Maths & Sciences

Continue reading “2005” →

Isa Lei, and the Yasawa islands, Fiji

This rearrangement of a traditional Fijian folk song was inspired by hearing the song sung there.

In May I visited the Yasawa Islands, to the northwest of Nadi and the main Fijian island Viti Levu.

Yasawa islands, Fiji

The boat ride took 3 hours, and enjoyably scenic. Each of the many small islands we passed was different in some way but all stunning

The marine life included

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A post shared by Dave Edwards (@fiffdimension)

Part of Other Islands: 2012-2018

– recent highlights recorded in New Zealand, Western Australia, Fiji, Indonesia and Okinawa

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A post shared by Dave Edwards (@fiffdimension)

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

the Ballad of William Knife

Music video from the album ‘South Island Sessions‘, set in 19th century New Zealand with an ecological theme. ‘The Ballad of William Knife’ was the name of the show we took to the Dunedin Fringe Festival in 2006.

1861 revisited – Continue reading “the Ballad of William Knife” →