1856 to 2026 – DIY outsider music, from Aotearoa NZ and beyond
Sad this week to hear of the early passing of Sam Prebble (aka Bond Street Bridge).
Our condolences to Sam’s family and friends.
He was a friend I hadn’t seen for a few years as I’ve been living abroad, but he played violin on ‘Loose Autumn Moans‘ and I’d always hoped to work with him again.
I loved the historical turn his recent music was taking.
Definitely a loss to NZ music as well as a personal tragedy to lose him before his time.
Simon O’Rorke – percussion
Paul Winstanley – synth bass
Blair Latham – alto sax
Jeff Henderson – clarinet
Bridget Kelly – tenor sax
Dan Beban – electric guitar
Dave Edwards – electric and acoustic guitars
A few years ago I wrote a chapter of Jazz Aotearoa, a book about New Zealand jazz music history, discussing the free improvisation and avant-garde jazz scene in Wellington at the turn of the millennium.
in the non-idiomatic idiom in Norway is a collection of improvised instrumental music with some of the musicians in that scene, from the point of view of my own attempts as an untrained outsider to fit in with these advanced jazz players – including Jeff Henderson, Blair Latham , Paul Winstanley, Dan Beban, Julie Bevan and others.
The title is a reference to Simon’s house on Norway Street, where the recordings took place. The ‘non idiomatic idiom’ suggests the paradox that improvising non-idiomatically (eg in an original personal style without reference to any genre – playing neither jazz, nor rock, blues, reggae, classical etc) is an idiom in itself.
It was recorded in Wellington in two volumes, in 1999 and 2014
Continue reading “in the non-idiomatic idiom in Norway (part 1, 1999)”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 thus:
“after recording tracks for The Marion Flow at Wafer HQ in New Plymouth an ad hoc group of associated locals assembled to record for several sessions of improvised rock/noise deconstruction. really, the only rock references here come from the guitars, with the sputtering synth, air-sucking turntables, didgeridoo and sundry toys providing layers of surreal abstraction. throw in some spoken word and a special guest appearance by N.P. record mogul Brian Wafer on vacuum cleaner – and the dAdApApA nova had blazed and fizzled in the blink of an eye.
“it wasn’t until several years later after the master mixes had been lost, partially recovered and then rediscovered intact again that “Waiting for the Drummer’ was given a final mastering and released as a CDR on EdenGully. it’s been a long strange journey…..”
released 01 August 2006 on Eden Gully as EG15
Fiff Dimension Dave – guitars, spoken word and furbie / Speed Cook – turntables and recording / Pal Diddly – synth and pithy observations / The Digitator – guitar, didgeridoo / BWafer – vacuum cleaner and coffees
| 1. | just in time for christmas 09:03 |
| 2. | making merry 09:00 |
| 3. | singing and drinking blood 08:31 |
| 4. | elves are farting bodies 14:10 |
| 5. | groan in extra stuffing 12:19 |
| 6. | smashed robots litter the pine 05:34 |
| 7. | an orgy of turkey gobble 08:04 |
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”
As well as recording music together, we completed a six-day hiking mission across the northern alps in July 2012, from Kamikochi to Toyama.
The album closes with our rendition of a traditional Okinawa shima uta (island song). It’s a tribute to Japan’s southernmost island prefecture, where Dave lived in 2011/12. The ‘overdrive’ is a tribute to early Pink Floyd, reflecting the psychedelic update of the tune.
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
| 1. | 東京から槍ヶ岳 Tokyo to Yarigatake 03:38 |
| 2. | 携帯電話 Keitai Denwa 05:43 |
| 3. | 幸せとは何？What actually is happiness? 04:17 |
| 4. | 剃毛電球ブルース Shaved Lightbulb Blues 04:18 |
| 5. | 福岡に到着 Arrival in Fukuoka 04:41 |
| 6. | 電機市 Denki Ken 03:58 |
| 7. | 平仮名 Hiragana 04:57 |
| 8. | 薬師岳から漓江まで Yakushidake to Li Jiang 05:07 |
| 9. | 安里屋ユンタオーバードライブ Asadoya Yunta Overdrive (Okinawa) 05:20 |
Nat da Hatt also contributes guest tracks to
and
“This is something that he has to do, that he will do, come fame or oblivion” –Chris Knox
“As Dave Edwards he has explored fuzzy punk, free-jazz, spoken word, alternative-folk and demented pop… as Dave Black, the palette is broadened” – Simon Sweetman
by Dave Black (acoustic & electric guitars, banjo, harmonica, laptop, bass, tenor saxophone, field recordings, piano, gayageum, vocal), with
“Experimental and avant-garde…. There is a clear passion, and a commitment to pushing the boundaries… This will challenge your perceptions of what constitutes music and open the mind to new possibilities of sounds that surround us – muzic.net.nz“
A compilation of songs, spoken word and instrumentals from the early phase of my gloriously unsuccessful career:
“Whilst shopping from fiffdimension, make sure to get hold of ‘Gleefully Unknown’ – a best-of compilation of Dave Edwards’ music from 1997 to 2005. Rough outsider folk-blues mysteries, dissonant rock textures, electric and acoustic improvisations…
“Edwards strikes me as one of the most overlooked musicians from the fertile lands of New Zealand and if you need a fresh start this might very well be the place.” – Mats Gustafsson, The Broken Face
by Dave Edwards (acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica, bass, banjo, vocal), with
Featuring tracks from the albums
… if you enjoy this, try the sequels Fame & Oblivion: 2005-2012 and Other Islands: 2012-2018
Acoustic instrumental music by Wellington, New Zealand, improvising trio The Winter.
Mike Kingston: charango, guitar, clarinet
Dave Edwards: ukulele, sanshin, tenor sax, piano
Simon Sweetman: xylophone, percussion
Recorded in Nelson, NZ, 2006.
1861 revisited – my pākeha (European) ancestors, John ‘Totara Jack’ and Mary Edwards, arrived in the South Island of New Zealand on board the Olympus and settled in Nelson1.
John ‘Totara Jack’ Edwards
When I lived nearby a century and a half later,
The early settler stories marked the start of an interest in genealogy, and prompted the music video for The Ballad of William Knife3 (loosely based on ‘Totara Jack’).
In contrast to the ‘traditional’ South Island NZ ‘Flying Nun‘ or The Dead C inspired sounds, South Island Sessions blended acoustic instruments with field recordings and electronic glitches. I played acoustic guitar, banjo and saxophone, and delegated the electric guitar role to two local players. We named this new genre “Steampunk Folktronica“4.
Recorded in Nelson NZ, 2006
The debut album by The Winter: instrumental improvisations from Wellington, New Zealand, 2003. The band emerged fully formed on winter solstice day in June.
Builds from acoustic intimacy around the winter fireplace to the electric blizzard climax of ‘Parataxes 9‘.
“Derek Bailey on acid!” – Anthony Donaldson, Primitive Art Group
Photos by James Gilberd, from The Winter’s first gig at Photospace Gallery, Wellington NZ, August 2003.
Mike Kingston – cello, electronic composition (1,4,7), electric guitar (2), acoustic guitar and slide whistle (8)
Dave Edwards – acoustic and electric guitars, harmonica
Simon Sweetman – drums and percussion
“The Winter are a Wellington based improvising trio, and Parataxes is their 1st release. It documents both acoustic and electric live sets that drift from eastern sounding cello led pieces to fairly extreme feed-backy noise. A key member of the group is Wellington’s master of pseudo-autistic intensity, Dave Edwards, whose guitar and harmonica work definitely moves the whole into a fairly edgy sphere. Over such a duration this can make pretty harrowing listening, but sometimes such immersions are worth it.” – Antony Milton, Pseudoarcana
“A strange sonic brew that includes dissonant rock textures, rough outsider folk-blues mysteries, electric and acoustic improvisations and a considerable part of tasty feedback. Imagine equal parts Derek Bailey, New Zealand’s Pumice and classic ’60s blues/folk and you’re in the right ballpark.” – The Broken Face
“I can be pretty naive sometimes, and I often forget that it actually
gets cold in New Zealand. For many of us Americans, we think of New
Zealand as being somewhat tropical. It’s an island after all, and we
are brought up believing that islands are exotic places that exist in
the middle of the warm oceans. This is obviously a mistake. Although I
still forget that the seasons are opposite in the Southern hemisphere,
the existence of dreary weather in New Zealand is cemented in my mind.
A great deal of experimental music from New Zealand has a distinctly
desolate, overcast feeling to it.“Appropriately named, The Winter hail from Wellington, New Zealand.
Most of you probably associate Wellington with the brilliant Pseudo
Arcana label, and keeping that sound in mind, The Winter offer up over
an hour of freeform aural explorations. These loose improvisations
range from processed field recordings to gritty blues dirges to
no-wave skronk. This trio consists of Simon Sweetman on drums and
percussion, San Shimla on cello, and Dave Edwards, whose great solo
albums have been circulating for years, on guitar and harmonica. All
three artists have a firm grasp of their respective instruments and
employ their talents well throughout “Parataxes.”“One thing I enjoy most about this record is Edward’s playing. On the
second track, the highlight is when he gets into a real groove with
his guitar and harmonica. The two complement each other perfectly, and
it has this 1960s folk feel to it that somehow doesn’t seem out of
place. As Sweetman joins in using various metallic percussive
instruments, the two start playing off each other. Their interaction
is impressive, and adds a vague sense of structure to this otherwise
scattered piece. I love when long improv sessions flow like a wave. At
times, they’re completely disjointed, but during rare moments
everything seems to come together. These last few minutes of the
second piece on “Parataxes” is one of those. It’s excellent.“Most of “Parataxes” is similar to the second track. Throughout long,
meandering jams, the trio searches through musty fog, searching out
common ground. As if in queue, they find each other, transfixed in the
middle somewhere. During the times when it all comes together, this is
as choice as any freeform improvisations I’ve heard in months.
However, these tracks wouldn’t this good if it weren’t for the journey
toward a collective state of mind. It might be all about the end
result, but the means of getting there is just as important…. The
Winter leave their mark. They soundtrack the devolution of autumn into
the coldest, cruelest of months. Using sparse sounds and sometimes
harsh instrumentation, “Parataxes” is all about finding the moment and
maintaining it for as long as possible. Recommended.”– Brad E. Rose, Foxy Digitalis
Excerpts from the album appear on the band’s Shortest Days: 2003-2015 compilation:
