The Troubled Times: Hill Road in Winter

Happy new year – here’s our first new music release of 2023 – available for download or limited-edition cassette, courtesy of Antony Milton‘s Smalltown Electron label:

The first physical format release from Masterton trio The Troubled Times (and the debut release for Small Town Electron as a label) 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.

(see also

The Troubled Times discography

)

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2022 roundup

fiffdimension vol4, summing up the last few years’ work here:

2022’s been a productive year here… we’ve produced a (mostly) solo instrumental album;

two albums by the Troubled Times – collaboration with Antony Milton now a trio with David Heath on drums;

recordings with my nephews Hans and Rhys Landon-Lane towards the Poems & Lyrics by John Collie project (words written by our ancestor);

a multimedia spoken word + improvised music collaboration with the painter James Robinson;

águas brilhantes: 2018-2022

about

fiffdimension compilation vol 4

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.

New and revisited texts and collaborations here include my ancestors and younger relatives, friends in Fiji, a painter in Otago, the curator of PseudoArcana, and the family dog.

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The Troubled Times: A Second Sun

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) (a crossover with fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/album/poems-lyrics-in-the-english-dialect-1856 )

Recorded in Masterton, New Zealand, 25 September 2022

Loosely a sequel to Antony Milton and Dave Edwards‘ first duo collaboration fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/album/return-of-the-sun-2021 – The Troubled Times’ debut.

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The Troubled Times: State Highway 2

credits

released August 13, 2022

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

https://fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/album/state-highway-2-2022

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Masterton, New Zealand

Masterton

Recorded in Antony’s garage,
17th July + 7th August 2022

Photo by Sara Rogers

Further listening: Antony and Dave also collaborated on fiffdimension.bandcamp.com/album/return-of-the-sun-2021
and
layyourburdensdown.bandcamp.com/album/-

w/ Antony Milton: The Troubled Times

For this EP The Troubled Times is Dave Edwards and Antony Milton.
Raw loud Improvised pluck and drone recorded in the between Covid lockdowns.

credits

released June 26, 2022

Recorded on a windy rainy Sunday in Antony’s garage in Masterton.
Guitar/Bass –Dave Edwards
Guitar/Keyboard/Vocs –Antony Milton.

For the first full length release from this duo, which pre-dates the name ‘The Troubled Times’ please visit fiffdimension.bandcamp.com

w/ James Robinson – Negentropic Diatribes

James Robinson – words, voice, paintings & drawings, bell drum

Dave Black – electric guitar, bass, loop pedal

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
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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.

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