Gar mar par da nee sa

the opening track from Ruasagavulu

recorded in Suva, Fiji, 2nd November 2019

This short warmup improv is based on an Indian scale, inspired by Dr Emit Snake-Beings‘ travels to Kerala in India, and harmonium lessons in Suva.

There’s an Indian influence throughout the album, as several sections are based on drones and modal improv (rather than the chord changes)… though this is not a traditional Indian album, we’ve borrowed ideas to inform our own experiments.

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The temple in the photo is Sri Siva Subramaniya in Nadi. It’s built in the Dravidian style from southern India, which is also found in Singapore and Malaysia.

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In contrast to other Pacific Island countries, Fiji has a large – almost half – population of Indian descent. Indians came to Fiji in the 19th century, as indentured labourers to work the sugar cane plantations.

The following videos are made in India, courtesy of www.snakebeings.co.nz

Continue reading “Gar mar par da nee sa” →

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.

dAdApApA: Waiting for the Drummer (1999)

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About

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…..”

credits

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

Tracklist

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

ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes (Japan, 2012)

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

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About

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

Crossing the Japan Alps

As well as recording music together, we completed a six-day hiking mission across the northern alps in July 2012, from Kamikochi to Toyama.

Asadoya Yunta Overdrive (Okinawa)

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.

Credits

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

Click here for Nat da Hatt’s solo albums

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

Tracklist

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