1856 to 2026 – DIY outsider music, from Aotearoa NZ and beyond
“Nutso falling over kind of wonkiness from mid-winter” = Antony Milton
The Troubled Times are:
Smalltown NZ free improv by Featherston Free Sound Ensemble
Paetumokai / Featherston,
Aotearoa / New Zealand,
Recorded at the Bakehouse, October-November 2025
| 1. | 19-11-25 #1 orchestral overtureย 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 |
Continue reading “Experiments Under the Hills (2025)”“I was wide awake at 2.30am so listened to us on headphones in the dark in bed. Iโm probably biased, but I think we sound bloody awesome” – Guy Walker
Smalltown free improv – live at @bakehousecollectivenz
“I was wide awake at 2.30am so listened to us on headphones in the dark in bed. Iโm probably biased, but I think we sound bloody awesome” – Guy Walker
Paetumokai / Featherston,
Aotearoa / New Zealand,
29 November 2025
Guy Walker – turntable, cassette loops
Alex V – turntable, MIDI, sampler
Dave Edwards – bass, guitar, e-drum, harmonica
Continue reading “Live at the Bakehouse 29/11/25”Guy Walker – turntables, cassettes (right channel)
Dave Edwards – bass, guitar, e-drum (left channel)
Recorded at the Bakehouse, Featherston NZ, 18/09/25
Continue reading “Featherston Free Sound Ensemble: First Experiments (2025)”A return to the duo lineup of our earliest recordings (Antony Milton and Dave Edwards).
Limited edition physical copies of Sparkle Tube are available from Antony’s Grey Cyphers CDR label, along with other NZ artists including Rain Sleepers, Agentsss, L$D Fundraiser, CJA, Tower of Heaven, and more.
Old school cdr label out of back blocks New Zealand/Aotearoa releasing music by Agentsss and other lo-fi mystic wannabes
Antony Milton
Duo outing for The Troubled Times on this disk, ostensibly this is material Dave and Antony recorded while waiting for drummer David to show up for practice. He never showed up…
More of a weird improv noise album this one- except for the ‘musical’ bits..
Kind of dreamy.
(But you know what dreams are like, cruising one minute- terror the next.)
Continue reading “The Troubled Times: Sparkle Tube (2025)”Latest release from The Troubled Timesโฆ weirdly ‘relevant’ this year. And available on cassette.
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.
Trying to find purpose amongst all the doom scrolling.
The Troubled Times (Antony Milton, Dave Edwards, David Heath) feature on this new compilation by Kentucky-based label Humanhood Recordings.
Available on limited edition double cassette.
Other artists include KNURL, EMIL BEAULIEAU, COCK ESP, Aaron Rosenblum, Thaniel Ion Lee, Mike Shiflet, Joe Tunis and more…
Live solo electric tracks, 2022-2024
Recorded at:
Dave Edwards – electric guitar, loop pedal, harmonica (2,5), e-drum (7), banjo (8), vocal, lyrics
John Collie (1834-1893) – lyrics (5-6)
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.
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
Continue reading “The Troubled Times: dDA (2025)”Following the 25th anniversary of fiffdimension in 2023, it was in some ways tempting to leave it there, and retire…
… but I soon found myself creating new music in 2024:
January: Solo suite for electric guitar, bass and electronic percussion.
April: New combination of old free improv collaborators Simon O’Rorke and Antony Milton.
โA virtual infusion of โants-in-the-pantsโ for the entomologically deficient.โ โAntony Milton
โThe album blends Antony Miltonโs and my styles, with Dave Edwards often occupying a pivotal midpoint. Itโs an exhilarating session.โ โ Simon OโRorke
June-August: A pair of new albums from The Troubled Times (trio with Antony Milton and David Heath):
The Latest Poll marked a departure into semiacoustic freak folk; whereas Boa leaned more towards noisy electric rock.
June-July: Recorded a couple more of my ancestor’s poems for this epic acoustic/folk work-in-progress (& hoping to finish it off this summer when my nephews visit):
September: A long-overdue return (after six years!) to live performance in Wellington, and The Troubled Times‘ first appearance there at the Pyramid Club.
October: A career-spanning longform interview, telling my life story and the background influences behind the music.
October: An international performance across the ditch :
The Sydney performance can now be heard on the Live 2022-24 album:
November: A new solo 7″ on vinyl (first one since 2016):
“Some seriously scrambled dissonance. 80โs vocals hits 60โs electro/cut-up nonsense whilst smothering an ever mutating bassline […] the track contains more musical ideas in its 5 mins than some exhibit in musical careers.” – Simon Baker, What Lies Beneath
December: A thoughtful birthday present (thanks Talei!): a t-shirt featuring the cover art from The Troubled Times’ A Second Sun album.
I also enjoyed a visit to my hometown of New Plymouth (& hope to play a gig there next time!)
fiffdimension 