Assembling disconsonant

This was chronologically the last piece recorded on the Acoustic yin / Electric yang 2CD, released to celebrate the 25th anniversary of fiffdimension in 2023.

“I liked the lyrics… the the way meaning gets assembled through shattered snap shots of a picture we may never see”
– Dr Emit Snake-Beings

Method

New improvisational raw material post-composed & aleatory generative texts added, in a kiwi accent:
I did the bass improvisation first, then played along with it on guitar and banjo, then improvised vocals with nonsensical words (Paul McCartney conjuring ‘get back’ in the documentary), transcribed, rewrote into English words (if not grammar), and fed that into Google search and read out cutups (Burroughs) of the search results to supplement it… I’ve had hangups for years about writing, so was looking for ways to short circuit my conscious doubt.
the title ‘assembling disconsonant’ describes the method?

meaning is optional

chance methods are supplementary

but starting with the bass part ensures the whole thing is built on a (human) groove

& stylistically a middle aged update of (early 2000s) solo pieces like https://fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/track/in-a-who-gets-to-who-who-does-him :

Lyrics

Assembling disconsonant,
(fine do it all in half take);
hours of wisdom, years of folly.

Far digressed – how far digressed at a woeful seed inconsolate engraver’s nest
How hard to be in vain

How many times of an awkward persuasion upon the twenty years and twenty more and hence the days of which were gone & now to rest.
A suitor sang he was inclined to raise the best achievements blessed & heard the worst & called a hearse & vain & vaguely followed favour on the rest declined.
Declined in favour on the rest to be the best & live in vain achiever’s nest with leave was blesst & obviating scrying
Meticulously dragged upon & a bird’s beak greed construed with macroeconomic trade sessions, subscriptions now open declined (the underappreciated Old Testament Galatians had suffered great reproach). Many afflictions & persecutions, theoretical thrifty gene.

Nothing more than had to be at said, nothing more that had to be at days, tomb towards them in time, hand the rest in brave the test in mouth begotten porcupine time expands in furtive graze to grind.

The only hope for awkward days
In said to be at sun was said to set in severed set in needle’s rest in groove.

Nonsensical of syllables attempting to reinstitute a thing for an institution only slightly half dizzy – he’d gotten off work at only 5:20…

credits

released May 6, 2023
Dave Black – bass, classical guitar, banjo, vocal

Recorded in Featherston, New Zealand, May 2023

Featherston, New Zealand

w/ James Robinson – Negentropic Diatribes (2022)

Multimedia spoken word and music collaboration between two unique NZ artists:

Listen

About

James Robinson is a mid career contemporary New Zealand mixed media artist, exhibiting widely since 1989 – www.jamesrobinson.nz

fiffdimension is music and multimedia by Dave Edwards (aka Dave Black) and collaborators, since 1998 – www.fiffdimension.com

We met in the early 2000s, and finally collaborated 20 years on. Negentropic Diatribes was recorded in Otago in 2022, as James used spoken word recordings to discuss his creative process and innermost thoughts.

The musical settings were created by Dave in Featherston – plus contributions from other collaborators.

credits

James Robinson – words, voice, paintings & drawings, bell drum
Dave Edwards – electric guitar, bass, loops (2,6,9), midi (9,13), ukulele (11), harmonica (14)

with

Antony Milton – electric guitar (4)
David Heath – drums (4)
Dr Emit Snake-Beings – percussion (5), keyboard (11)
Jody Lloyd – beats and mixing (12)
Nathan Palmer – electric guitar, thumb piano, jaw harp, banjo, and synth (14)
‐‐——-

Tracklist

1.	Telescopic Misanthropy (take 1) 02:10
2.	Tendrils of Glowing Memory Filaments 04:31
3.	Nothing Can be Threatened by Nothing 04:19
4.	James Robinson + The Troubled Times – The Edge 03:25
5.	James Robinson + snakebeings + fiffdimension – Dialogue with the Divine 05:30
6.	Well Done Son! 00:54
7.	Old Brain (metadada of Oceania remembering) 06:19
8.	James Robinson – Is Not Art 03:29
9.	Existential Threat 01:02
10.	Got Razed 07:34
11.	James Robinson + snakebeings + fiffdimension – That which is itself nature 05:00
12.	James Robinson + Trillion – Bath poem 10:31
13.	Psychocultural Glossalalia 01:39
14.	James Robinson + Nat da Hatt + fiffdimension – Ake Ake Amene 18:20

James Robinson

James won 2007 paramount prize in the wallace award for
” Taniwaha dragon mother ( spirit bones)”

‘… a great big flatulent belch of fresh air amongst all the tight-sphinctered, deodorised boys and girls of the accepted national art world….. off-kilter and threatening but always sumptuously, gloriously beautiful.’
– Chris Knox.

Continue reading →

The Marion Flow (part 2, Wellington 2001)

“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

Listen

Credits

Written by Dave Edwards, and produced by Paul Winstanley,

Featuring Chris O’Connor (drums), Chris Palmer (electric guitars), Simon O’Rorke (percussion), Dean Brown (drums).

Recorded at Thistle Hall, Wellington, 2001, and mixed by Joe Callwood.

Chris O’Connor
Chris Palmer
Paul Winstanley
Simon O’Rorke
Dave Edwards

About

The Marion Flow was originally a longer album which spanned recordings from New Plymouth in 1999 and Wellington in 2001.

In 1999, aged 20, I’d left New Plymouth, a large rural town, where I grew up, and moved to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city, where I’d been born and where my early pakeha settler ancestors had lived in the 19th century. The Marion Flow reflects this journey, geographically, sonically and spiritually.

“The lights on the city, the barrenness glowed

& behind me the sea as it ebbed & flowed,

Leave the loner alone to go face what he knows

Chained to the flow…” – Seafriends

For the earlier 1999 New Plymouth sessions see The Marion Flow (part 1, Taranaki);

By the time the opportunity arose to finish recording the Marion Flow I’d been thoroughly immersed in the Wellington free jazz and avant-garde music scene, and was very fortunate to have help from some of the top players there. I’d never studied music at school or been in a conventional band, and was out of my depth technically… so working around my limitations became a spark to creativity.

I’ve now reissued the two halves of the album separately – to emphasise the sense of time and place, and stylistic evolution, and to re-present them more concisely for the short-attention-span 21st century.

“Edwards’ music is often a sculpture rather than a melodic composition. Within this chosen form, amongst all the writings rantings & poetry there’s much difficult pleasure to be had for the musically adventurous.” – Brent Cardy, Real Groove, July 2002

Tracklist

	1.	Seafriends 03:07 Dave Edwards – acoustic guitar, vocal Paul Winstanley – fretless bass Chris Palmer – electric guitars Chris O’Connor – drums
	2.	A Wedding 03:48 Dave Edwards – electric guitar, piano innards, canvas sheet, vocal
	3.	A Visit to the Beehive 00:45 Dave Edwards – acoustic guitar, vocal Simon O’Rorke – drums
	4.	Monkeys with Typewriters 03:30 Dave Edwards – electric guitar Chris Palmer – electric guitar Simon O’Rorke – percussion
	5.	Tony Was Here (but they put him on ice) 03:07 Dave Edwards – electric guitar, vocal Chris O’Connor – drums
	6.	Cafes in Conversation 03:38 Dave Edwards – electric guitar, vocal Paul Winstanley – fretless bass Chris O’Connor – drums
	7.	The Marion Flow (live at the Space) 09:07 Dave Edwards – electric guitar, harmonica, vocal Dean Brown – drums
	8.	Seafriends (instrumental mix) 04:05 Dave Edwards – acoustic guitar Paul Winstanley – fretless bass Chris Palmer – electric guitars Chris O’Connor – drums

Further listening

Continue reading →

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

Listen

Credits

Produced by Paul Winstanley, & featuring Steve Duffels, the Digitator, and the Dadapapa Magickclone Orchestra.

Recorded at the TFC Lounge, New Plymouth, 1999 – with special thanks to Brian Wafer.

About

The Marion Flow is a pre-millennial fusion of warm acoustic pop, spoken word and postpunk discord.. An almost-acknowledged New Zealand classic from Taranaki – of its time (the ’90s!) yet timeless.

As the sophomore fiffdimension release (following 1998’s Scratched Surface), The Marion Flow began to mix more experimental elements alongside the songwriting. It shows an evolution in ambition and production values, and a more complex & impressionistic lyrical style.

“I sit in this tower of tongues & bells, & move to the groove

Or so that I’m reckoned, & then I am beckoned

Back to these shoes, nigh marion blues

And so to the seashore our body now go, & tale shall flow & power ye know…” – The Marion Flow

In 1999, aged 20, I left New Plymouth, a large rural town, where I grew up, and moved to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city, where I was born. The Marion Flow reflects this journey, geographically, sonically and spiritually.

The Marion Flow was originally a longer album spanning recordings from New Plymouth in 1999 and Wellington in 2001. I’ve now reissued the two halves separately – to emphasise the sense of time and place, and stylistic evolution, and to re-present each more concisely (for the short-attention-span 21st century).

This page is for the 1999 New Plymouth sessions; for the 2001 Wellington followup recordings see The Marion Flow (part 2);

“Edwards’ music is often a sculpture rather than a melodic composition. Within this chosen form, amongst all the writings rantings & poetry there’s much difficult pleasure to be had for the musically adventurous.” – Brent Cardy, Real Groove, July 2002