Music video by The Troubled Times (Antony Milton, Dave Edwards, David Heath)
from the CD ‘Another Sunday’
Continue reading “The Wind Always Gets Through”Tag: Masterton
The Troubled Times: Hill Road in Winter
The first physical format release from Masterton trio The Troubled Times is a loud and noisy nocturnal romp – through the hills and onto the gravel back roads of one of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s least visited regions.
Whilst earlier digital releases have veered from arty drone pieces to synth pop and heavy space rock the music on ‘Hill Road In Winter’ is more like a psychedelic pub jam band gone BRILLIANTLY ‘wrong’. Woozy blues paeans slip sideways into feedback freakouts and heavy Hawkwind-like stomps attempt to transition into songs by The Fall.
All recorded ‘New Zealand style’ in my garage.If we weren’t such raving greenies here at Small Town Electron we’d put this tape forward as the PERFECT album for a lengthy nocturnal drive. – Antony Milton
Cassette
รกguas brilhantes: 2018โ-โ2022
“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 (Oscarโs 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
- fiffdimension compilation vol 4 (a followup to Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005, Fame & Oblivion: 2005-2012, and Other Islands: 2012-2018)
- Made in Featherston, Masterton and Port Chalmers (NZ), Paris (France), and Suva (Fiji)
- Includes tracks by The Troubled Times, Campbell Kneale & Dave Black, James Robinson & fiffdimension, Oscar (the dog), and poems & lyrics by John Collie (1834-1893)
รกguas brilhantes (or ‘glistening waters’ in English) is the Portuguese translation of Wairarapa, the Mฤori 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
- Antony Milton – keyboard, electric guitar (The Troubled Times)
- David Heath – drums (The Troubled Times)
- Campbell Kneale – electric guitar & analogue synthesiser on ‘both chords’
- Hans Landon-Lane – ukulele, accordion, vocal (Clever Hansel)
- Celeste Rochery – guitar & vocal on ‘My Native Land’
- James Robinson – bell drum on ‘June’s Lounge‘, lyrics & vocal on ‘the edge‘ and ‘old brain‘
- John Collie (1834-1893) – Poems & Lyrics (in the English and Scotch Dialects, 1856)
- Dr Emit Snake-Beings – keyboards & percussion (in Fiji)
- Elario Irava – acoustic guitar & vocal (from Fiji)
- Nat da Hatt – electric guitar & thumb piano on ‘June’s Lounge‘
- The Digitator – keyboards & vocal on ‘Inverno‘
- Oscar – vocal on ‘Oscar’s blues‘
- Rhys Landon-Lane – classical guitar & vocal on ‘by my faith sirs this canna lang dee‘
released December 22, 2022
Tracklist
Features previously unreleased recordings, and tracks from
Further listening: the albums
The Troubled Times: A Second Sun
about
Loosely a sequel to The Troubled Times’ debut, Return of the Sun (2021) –
These new recordings were made exactly one year later – again on the first day of daylight savings, Spring 2022 in the southern hemisphere – now joined by David Heath on drums.
The anniversary prompted the title – then possible alternative meanings of which (binary star systems, colonising other planets) led down a science fiction wormhole…
credits
- Antony Milton – electric guitar, keyboard (1,4), drums (4), painting
- Dave Edwards – bass, electric guitar (4), vocal (6), harmonica (7)
- David Heath – drums
- John Collie (1834-1893) – lyrics (6)
Recorded in Masterton, New Zealand, 25 September 2022
T-shirt – order here!
The Dying Monarch
The album also features a key crossover track, with the Poems & Lyrics by John Collie (1856) project:
This track links the various spoken word,ย electricย improv, and folk strands of fiffdimension music. While the rest of Poems & Lyrics by John Collie (1856) is acoustic based, in this case, the electric arrangement seemed to add a โkinglyโ majesty, and pathos – as the monarch discovers the limits of his worldly power.
โThe monarch ceased. The courtier train shook, muttered, gazed and shook again.
They saw lifeโs dying embers fade, they felt the sting of horrorโs blade.
Before them lay a lifeless form, which once with life had passions warmed.
The hand was stiff which oft had reigned, the warhorse and the prisoner chained.
A lifeless lump of senseless clay, the stern despotic monarch lay.โ โ John Collie (1834-1893)
(track also appears onย fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/album/poems-lyrics-in-the-english-dialect-1856ย )
Tracklist
Continue reading “The Troubled Times: A Second Sun”The Troubled Times: State Highway 2
The first proper ‘band’ recording sessions by The Troubled Times, with the addition of David Heath on drums.
Improvised psychedelic rock – inspired by the Wairarapa rural landscapes, and the main road through them – with touches of country, Brazilian jazz, and electroacoustic experiments.
credits
Antony Milton – electric guitar, banjo (6), drums & keyboard (7)
Dave Edwards – electric guitar (1,3,5), acoustic guitar (2,6,7), bass (4), aluminium ladder (7)
David Heath – drums
released August 13, 2022
——-
Masterton, New Zealand
Recorded in Antony’s garage,
17th July + 7th August 2022
Photo by Sara Rogers
Tracklist
| 1. | Whatever you like (north of Wellington) 06:31 |
| 2. | Wairarapa bossa nova 03:18 |
| 3. | Passing the Tararuas 03:26 |
| 4. | Waiohine river after rain 02:50 |
| 5. | Driving inland 07:16 |
| 6. | Sanson & Woodville (acoustic) 06:34 |
| 7. | Snakes & ladder 02:08 |
| 8. | Spring nor’wester 06:35 |
| 9. | Bossanova Wairarapa (mais tempo) |
Further listening: The Troubled Times
Antony and Dave also collaborated on fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/album/return-of-the-sun-2021
and
layyourburdensdown.bandcamp.com/album/-
The Troubled Times: […]
The sophomore EP by The Troubled Times duo of Antony Milton and Dave Edwards.
Raw loud Improvised pluck and drone. Recorded on a windy rainy Sunday in Antony’s garage in Masterton, in 2021, between Covid lockdowns.
credits
Guitar/Bass –Dave Edwards
Guitar/Keyboard/Vocs –Antony Milton.
released June 26, 2022
Tracklist
| 1. | Move Alongย 03:54 |
| 2. | Genes 02:17 |
| 3. | Super Lucid 13:46 |
| 4. | Woodness 04:01 |
Further listening: The Troubled Times
The first full length release from this duo, which pre-dates the name ‘The Troubled Times’, was Return of the Sun (2021)
In 2022, the duo became a trio, joined by David Heath on drums, givng us a full ‘band’ sound.
w/ Antony Milton: Return of the Sun
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Antony Milton is a sound artist based in Masterton, New Zealand.
He has been active in the underground and experimental music scenes since the early 1990s.
Continue reading “w/ Antony Milton: Return of the Sun”The 2021 debut album by The Troubled Times!
This was our first recording session, as an electric guitar improv duo – in collaboration with antonymilton.bandcamp.com
Recorded in Masterton, New Zealand, 26 September 2021 – on the first day of daylight savings, in the southern hemisphere Spring,
Antony Milton is a sound artist based in Masterton, New Zealand.
He has been active in the underground and experimental music scenes since the early 1990s.
Continue reading “w/ Antony Milton: Return of the Sun”Summer Skin
Live 4th May 2019, at Wairarapa TV May Music Marathon, in Masterton NZ.
Solo guitar & harmonica version of track http://www.fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/track/summer-skin
Originally recorded in Wellington NZ, September 2003, for the album ‘Loose Autumn Moans‘, with a mini string section of Mike Kingston on cello and Sam Prebble (RIP) on violin. It also appears on the Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005 compilation.
