The Marion Flow (part 2, Wellington 2001)

: produced by Paul Winstanley, & featuring Chris O'Connor (drums), Chris Palmer (electric guitars), Simon O'Rorke (percussion). Recorded at Thistle Hall, Wellington, 2001, and mixed by Joe Callwood. For the earlier 1999 New Plymouth sessions see The Marion Flow (part 1, Taranaki); The Marion Flow was originally a longer album which spanned recordings from New … Continue reading The Marion Flow (part 2, Wellington 2001)

The Marion Flow (part 1, Taranaki 1999)

"It's lo-fi, organic and about as eclectic as one could manage. Kind of reminds me of Nick Cave if he had grown up in Timaru. No pretentious American accents or catch phrase choruses, just a bunch of people making music. A little beauty!" - NZ Musician, August/September 2002 Produced by Paul Winstanley, & featuring Steve … Continue reading The Marion Flow (part 1, Taranaki 1999)

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. The boat ride took 3 hours, and enjoyably scenic. Each of the many small islands we passed was different in … Continue reading Isa Lei, and the Yasawa islands, Fiji

Other Islands: 2012-2018

fiffdimension vol3 (see also Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005 and Fame & Oblivion: 2005-2012) brings us into the current decade - with further wide-ranging experimentation and exploration sonically, temporally and geographically, in New Zealand, Western Australia, Indonesia, Okinawa (Japan), and Fiji. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTMQw7roXH0&list=PLtbrBpNjlOHOfvink1dJANU_UFOs6My4Y by Dave Black (acoustic & electric guitars, banjo, harmonica, laptop, bass, tenor saxophone, field recordings, piano, ukulele, sanshin, saron, … Continue reading Other Islands: 2012-2018

the Ballad of William Knife

https://youtu.be/OJmvCpmHj_0 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. See also the videos for 'Bandit Joe on a Scraded Gat' and 'BFD' 1861 revisited - … Continue reading the Ballad of William Knife

安里屋ユンタオーバードライブ Asadoya Yunta Overdrive (Okinawa)

Here's a new bonus track we've added to the album ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes - our version of a traditional shima uta (island song) from 沖縄 (Okinawa). Dave Black - sanshin, harmonica, field recordings Nat da Hatt - acoustic & electric guitars, electronics Cylvi Manthyng - shakuhachi As you can hear, the music of Okinawa … Continue reading 安里屋ユンタオーバードライブ Asadoya Yunta Overdrive (Okinawa)

Free mp3s 2014 – 2015

New free downloads 2014-2015 !  Pay koha / what you want for Ngumbang the first collaborative album by New Zealand artist/musician/filmmaker/ethnomusicologists Dave Black & Snake Beings - performed on guitars, bass, banjo, percussion, saxophones, clarinets, harmonicas, synthesisers, Indonesian gamelan, Okinawan sanshin, ukulele, violin, loop pedal, piano, drums and spoken word. and ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes … Continue reading Free mp3s 2014 – 2015

The Winter: Exit Points

Today is the last day of winter in the southern hemisphere - so to celebrate, here's the fifth album from The Winter - a New Zealand free improvisation trio of Mike Kingston, Simon Sweetman and Dave Edwards… with a sound that swerves from acoustic folk/blues with hints of Asian, Celtic, and Balkan influences, to electroacoustic … Continue reading The Winter: Exit Points

Ngumbang

Out now!! the new collaboration with even more legendary & underground NZ artist Snake Beings. Ngumbang is the first collaborative album by two of New Zealand’s more unusual artist/musician/filmmaker/ethnomusicologists - performed on guitars, bass, banjo, percussion, saxophones, clarinets, harmonicas, synthesisers, Okinawan sanshin, ukulele, violin, loop pedal, piano, drums and spoken word.  The album was recorded … Continue reading Ngumbang

dAdApApA: Waiting for the Drummer

A companion to The Marion Flow, recorded in 1999 by the same lineup who provided that album's longest (and least conventionally song-based track, pointing the way towards the increasingly radio-unfriendly Mantis Shaped and Worrying), "Lucifer Directing Traffic (at 3AM)" Recording engineer Paul Winstanley, head of the excellent, now San Francisco-based avant-garde music label Eden Gully recalls it … Continue reading dAdApApA: Waiting for the Drummer