2025 roundup

Another productive year here! We released:

Ruasagavulu ka lima (Fiji)

An acoustic solo album, made in the Yasawa islands, Fiji. Ukulele and field recordings, with acoustic bass and percussion.

Poems & Lyrics by John Collie (1856)

A musical adaptation of my ancestor’s book, finally ‘close enough’ to finished after seven years… or 169, depending how you count it.

Featherston Free Sound Ensemble

A new collaboration with turntablists Guy Walker and Alex V – free improv electronica for the regions.

Experiments Under the Hills

October-November, with Guy Walker and Alex V

The Troubled Times

with Antony Milton and David Heath in Masterton NZ.

Unsteady Ground

As close as we’ve come to a ‘political’ album

dDA

We swapped instruments and almost formed a new band.

Homo Homini Lupus

We appeared on this ‘various artists’ compilation from Louisville, Kentucky

Smudge

Winter was too cold for the garage, so we played ‘lounge music’

Thanks for listening! See you in 2026...

The Troubled Times: Smudge (2025)

“Nutso falling over kind of wonkiness from mid-winter” = Antony Milton

Listen

credits

The Troubled Times are:

Antony Milton – guitar, synths
Dave Edwards – guitar
David Heath – drums & percussion

Tracks 1-9 recorded July 2025; tracks 10-12 recorded August 2022
in Masterton, Aotearoa/NZ

about

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Experiments Under the Hills (2025)

Smalltown NZ free improv by Featherston Free Sound Ensemble

Paetumokai / Featherston,
Aotearoa / New Zealand,

credits

Guy Walker – turntable, cassette loops
Alex V – turntable, MIDI, sampler
Dave Edwards – bass, guitar, e-drum, harmonica

Recorded at the Bakehouse, October-November 2025

tracklist

1.	19-11-25 #1 orchestral overture 08:53
2.	27-11-25 #3 casino 03:39
3.	12-11-25 #4a static electricity 02:34
4.	12-11-25 #5c tremelo 03:48
5.	30-10-25 #2 Bulgarian 11:27
6.	27-11-25 #2 banjo 04:55
7.	12-11-25 #3b ukulele 03:27
8.	12-11-25 #5a EDM 03:51
9.	30-10-25 #3 guitar 04:27
10.	19-11-25 #4 towards the exit 03:25
11.	12-11-25 #3a orchestral reprise 04:53

Further listening:

“I was wide awake at 2.30am so listened to us on headphones in the dark in bed. I’m probably biased, but I think we sound bloody awesome” – Guy Walker

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Live at the Bakehouse 29/11/25

Smalltown free improv – live at @bakehousecollectivenz

“I was wide awake at 2.30am so listened to us on headphones in the dark in bed. I’m probably biased, but I think we sound bloody awesome” – Guy Walker

Paetumokai / Featherston,
Aotearoa / New Zealand,

29 November 2025

credits

Guy Walker – turntable, cassette loops

Alex V – turntable, MIDI, sampler

Dave Edwards – bass, guitar, e-drum, harmonica

Continue reading →

Featherston Free Sound Ensemble: First Experiments (2025)

Guy Walker – turntables, cassettes (right channel)
Dave Edwards – bass, guitar, e-drum (left channel)

Recorded at the Bakehouse, Featherston NZ, 18/09/25

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Poems & Lyrics (in the English dialect) (1856)

Songs of the seasons, the forest and the sea, home and exile, mortality and immortality:

an adaptation of the book, “Poems and Lyrics (in the English and Scotch dialects)“ by John Collie, of Boyndie (1834-1893), with music by his descendants in New Zealand, between 2020-2025

Listen

“Songs from the harp and lyre – a fantastic flow back from the ancient days” – Dr Emit Snake-Beings

The album includes collaborations with my nephew Hans Landon-Lane, plus guest appearances by Antony Milton and Dr Emit Snake-Beings.

“I have been lucky enough to hear some of Dave Edwards work on this at a couple of shows – very cool concept project and worth a listen” – James Trotman

Background

My great-great-grandfather published his book in 1856, before emigrating to New Zealand for the rest of his life.

Discovering this family outsider art precedent in 2018 cast fiffdimension in a whole new light! It sparked a seven-year project to record musical arrangements of his poems for a new century’s audience.

“And with a trembling hand I launch my tiny vessel into the troubled ocean of literature , where many a noble craft has been shattered to pieces…”

Like his better-known countryman (and influence) Robert Burns, John Collie wrote in both English and Scots. The other half of the album is Poems & Lyrics in the Scotch Dialect

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Poems & Lyrics (in the Scotch dialect) (1856)

Songs of alcohol, death, the devil, rebellion, kinship, and love gone awry, from 19th century Scotland:

an adaptation of the book, “Poems and Lyrics (in the English and Scotch dialects)“ by John Collie, of Boyndie (1834-1893),

with music by his descendants, between 2018-2025 in New Zealand and France.

Listen

“Songs from the harp and lyre – a fantastic flow back from the ancient days” – Dr Emit Snake-Beings

“I have been lucky enough to hear some of Dave Edwards work on this at a couple of shows – very cool concept project and worth a listen” – James Trotman

Background

“And with a trembling hand I launch my tiny vessel into the troubled ocean of literature , where many a noble craft has been shattered to pieces…”

Continue reading →

The Troubled Times: Unsteady Ground (2025)

Latest release from The Troubled Times… weirdly ‘relevant’ this year. And available on cassette.

Listen

A new collection of songs for the Times.
Starting off with a weirdly upbeat track recorded pre- US election the tone drifts somewhat astray as the collection proceeds.

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Trying to find purpose amongst all the doom scrolling.

credits

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The Troubled Times: dDA (2025)

The Troubled Times‘ first recording session of 2025.

Dave on guitar and Antony on bass this time – a role reversal from our usual instruments – resulted in a distinctly different flavoured improv… a frenetic scratchiness.

Credits

David Heath – drums (2-7), bass (8)
Dave Edwards – electric guitars, harmonica (6)
Antony Milton – bass (1-7), vocal (6), drums (8)

Recorded 20 January 2025, in Masterton, Aotearoa/NZ

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January 2025

Happy new year! So far, in the early weeks of 2025, I‘ve:

Played a live solo acoustic set, at the Wairarapa Songwriters’ Group night at Carterton Club on 11 January.

The Troubled Times

held our first two first recording sessions for the year:
- on 20th of January, an instrument-swapped session with Dave on guitar and Antony on bass this time:

and on 26 January – music video by Antony Milton below, for a forthcoming album:

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Adieu to Tweedside.

Recorded a new version for Poems & Lyrics by John Collie (1856). It includes acoustic bass and classical guitar. It’s set to the traditional Scottish tune ‘Skye Boat Song’, and starts with almost a doo-wop feel – before taking a darker turn, as the theme of bereavement is revealed: