águas brilhantes: 2018-2022

fiffdimension vol 4

made in Featherston, Masterton, and Suva – ft Antony Milton, James Robinson, Dr Emit Snake-Beings, Campbell Kneale, and lyrics by John Collie (1834-1893) – the title is ‘Wairarapa’ in Portuguese.

Collaborations with my ancestors and younger relatives, friends in Fiji, a painter in Otago, the curator of PseudoArcana, and the family dog.

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.

a followup to
fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/album/gleefully-unknown-1997-2005
fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/album/fame-oblivion-2005-2012
fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/album/other-islands-2012-2018

with videos at www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtbrBpNjlOHOhGouOChNl3jVUif1AZIl6 )

águas brilhantes (or ‘glistening waters’ in English) is the Portuguese translation of Wairarapa, the Māori name of the region where I live. Several of my pākeha ancestors arrived here in the 19th century.

Much of the music is inspired by two of my great-great-grandfathers – John Collie (1834-1893), a Scottish poet, who helped build the Remutaka incline railway; and Manuel Bernard (1847-1928), who left the Azores islands, as a teenaged stowaway on a whaling ship and ended up in Masterton. It’s also a torch-passing to the next generation – recorded with nephews Hans and Rhys, and niece Celeste.

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2018

The main project for 2018 was Other Islands: 2012-2018;

The last five (of the 20) tracks were recorded in 2018 – each in a different genre:

Continue reading “2018” →

Nat da Hatt – Harpsychord

The latest offering from Nat da Hatt, recorded in 2015-2016 in Kawaguchi City, Japan using an array of instruments, devices and machines including: a Zoom digital eight track recorder, A Gretsch Electromatic guitar and a Korg vocoder.

Harpsychord follows hot on the heels of 2015’s Volume V and Kleptomania

and his previous 2012 solo masterpiece, Twango

Nat da Hatt is a political refugee from New Zealand who has settled in Japan where he spends his days in a cave creating tone paintings on an array of devices and instruments including: guitar, thumb piano and a Korg vocoder.

He’s also collaborated with fiffdimension’s Dave Black on the 2014 explicitly Japanese psychedelic album

ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes

and guested on Ngumbang

as well as with American jaw-harp maestro Richard Morrison as Mezcla de Refresco

https://natdahatt.bandcamp.com/

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 is quite distinct from that of mainland Japan.

Nat da Hatt: Volume V

Presenting the second new solo album for 2015 from Nat da Hatt!

Volume V follows hot on the heels of Kleptomania

and his previous 2012 solo masterpiece, Twango

He’s also collaborated with fiffdimension’s Dave Black on the 2014 explicitly Japanese psychedelic album

ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes

and some 2015 collaborations in progress

as well as with American jaw-harp maestro Richard Morrison as Mezcla de Refresco

https://natdahatt.bandcamp.com/

Nat da Hatt: Kleptomania

Presenting the new solo album from Nat da Hatt!

He’s also collaborated with fiffdimension’s Dave Black on the 2014 explicitly Japanese psychedelic album

ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes

and some 2015 collaborations in progress

as well as with American jaw-harp maestro Richard Morrison as Mezcla de Refresco

and here’s his previous 2012 solo masterpiece, Twango

https://natdahatt.bandcamp.com/

The Road to Bogandoor

Election night 2013 in Australia mix –

At the time I lived in Perth, WA.

And Australia Day music video from an unfinished Aussie album… enjoy!

Music by Nat da Hatt & Dave Black with Snake Beings, video by Dave Black and Cylvi Manthyng

See also – our first Australian album, After Maths & Sciences,

and Dave Black & Nat da Hatt in Japan: ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes

Mezcla de Refresco

Mezcla de Refresco is a new duo featuring Nat da Hatt (who also performs with fellow kiwi Dave Black on their Japanese psychedelic duo album ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes)

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Richard Morrison: jaw harp, Korg synthesizer, samples

Nathan Palmer: guitar, Korg vocoder, samples, thumb piano

Mixed and engineered by Nathan Palmer. Continue reading “Mezcla de Refresco” →

ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes

Music by Dave Black & Nat da Hatt – two New Zealanders living in Japan. 楽しむことができます!

Like 日本 itself, this music offers a surrealistic fusion of ancient and modern. released 31 January 2014

Click here for Nat da Hatt’s solo albums

Nat da Hatt – electric & acoustic guitars, drum machine, synths, laptop, samples

Dave Black – bass, banjo, acoustic guitar (5), electric guitar (3), loop pedal, electronics, laptop, field recordings

Dave Black & Nat da Hatt climb Mt Yakushidake, Japan, 2012

Nat da Hatt

Sunrise from the summit of Mt Fuji, Japan, 2012

Kyoto, Japan, 2012

ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes (2014)

Nat da Hatt

Dave at the Golden Pagoda, Kyoto, Japan, 2012

Welcome to the Year of the Horse!

Fame & Oblivion: 2005-2012

“This is something that he has to do, that he will do, come fame or oblivion” –Chris Knox

Now available on Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp, Deezer etc

fiffdimension vol2, a sequel to Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005, sees increasingly wide-ranging experimentation and exploration both sonically and geographically, from New Zealand and beyond to Australia and East Asia, and a reinvention as Dave Black.

Whereas Gleefully Unknown: 1997-2005 showed a youthful kiwi fusion of songs with avant-garde spoken word and instrumental pieces, Fame & Oblivion: 2005-2012 documents me in my late 20s and early 30s moving beyond these parameters.

My approach became less introspective and more journalistic – thanks to new influences from years spent living abroad in Australia, South Korea and Japan. New elements include the banjo, electronica, field recordings, multimedia performances, and touches of traditional Asian music. I also adopted the moniker Dave Black, to differentiate from my earlier works.

The third part of the trilogy, Other Islands: 2012-2018, documents my return to NZ via other Asia Pacific countries, and more recent works.

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Featuring tracks from the albums

Ascension Band: Evolution (2005)

After Maths & Sciences (2005-2006)

South Island Sessions (2006)

First Time Around: East Asia (2008)

The Winter: 2011 (2011)

The Winter: Exit Points (2010/2015)

ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes (2010-2015)

and previously unheard tracks