Thanks to the Bakehouse Collective, artists and audience, on a wintry July evening in Paetumokai/ Featherston.
Dave Edwards – “Assembling Disconsonant “
at the launch of the Wairarapa cassette compilation
Tag: Featherston
In The Golden – A Selection Of Wairarapa Underground Recordings 1988-2026
New compilation of the Wairarapa NZ underground scene, compiled by Antony Milton.
Features The Troubled Times and fiffdimension, joining the dots with Perpets, Winterwood, Campbell Kneale, Saali Marks, and other locals. From the smalltown backblocks of the Wellington region.
Listen
“Sometime in 2024 a battered old home dubbed cassette was found in a local charity shop. Hand written on the cover was ‘Graveyard show, Masterton radio, 1998’. It was 20c and I figured it was worth the punt. As the text suggested it was an after midnight radio show, mainly made up of – to my ears- mediocre (or at least very dated) grindcore and industrial techno. Not my bag at all really- but the in-between banter was GOLD. I true snapshot of the generally ‘munted’ nature of Masterton at that time. (Its only moderately improved since to be honest). I only remembered the existence of this tape when the idea struck me to do this compilation- why not swap out the music but keep the banter? I make no claims to this being anything like a reliable overview of underground music in the Wairarapa. All the towns here are ‘small town’ small towns, generally very conservative and less than likely to celebrate their ‘weirdos’. All the same I’ve gotten to know a fair few of them over the 7 years I’ve been here and had been tipped off to a couple more. There must be some I just haven’t stumbled across yet however. It was particularly exciting for me to finally hear Spectrum Is Green as David (Heath– the drummer in The Troubled Times) had always been a little elusive about this band from the 1980s that he had fronted. Finally he gave me their unreleased album from 1988 to listen to. Its gobsmackingly great and WILL be getting released shortly. David also gave me a cdr of a singer/songwriter from Masterton named Brent Grey to check out. This was recorded in 1999 and is also a true treasure. The track on here was so perfect that its title became the title of the entire compilation.
Most of the other stuff is a lot more recent. Some of the names will be familiar but I’m sure many won’t. I also made the perhaps perverse decision to go with somewhat more ‘approachable’ tracks from each artist. For the most part anyway.
I have given a full breakdown of each artist on their individual track pages which can be linked to by clicking on the respective title.” – Antony Milton
Tracklist
| 1. | The Troubled Times – Proxima Centauri Blues 03:01 |
| 2. | Brilliant Swords- Imaginary 03:20 |
| 3. | Brent Grey- In The Golden 03:03 |
| 4. | Fiffdimension- Assembling Disconsonant 02:32 |
| 5. | Saali Marks- Beasts Of Boredom 03:32 |
| 6. | Self Help Sound System- Greta’s Plea 03:14 |
| 7. | Perpets- Spring/Wind over Water 03:40 |
| 8. | Alex V- Live @ Featherston Bakehouse 2025 02:47 |
| 9. | Tophy- Rose 02:20 |
| 10. | The Troubled Times- No Maxim But Now 02:44 |
| 11. | Spectrum Is Green- Dead End 03:45 |
| 12. | Curtains- Scarlet Rise 01:49 |
| 13. | Winterwood- Hope 05:17 |
| 14. | Sleep Hygiene- Bev’s Quilt 04:22 |
28 February – BTU zine launch
Join us to launch Beneath the Underdog (BTU), an old-school DIY, fanzine focusing on local music, arts and ideas from the fringes. With BTU we hope to shine a wee spotlight on people doing interesting and creative things and comment on things we think deserve attention.
Be the first to get your hands on Issue 1 (bound to become a rare collector’s item!), and get down to live sets from our friends and fellow contributors, Ken Double, Zac Winterwood and FFSE (Featherston Free Sound Ensemble).
And if that wasn’t awesome enough already, you will also be among the first ever visitors to Murtle Chickpea’s Tiny Travelling Art Gallery, full of tiny little pieces of art (for sale!), which Murtle will be bringing along for the night.
PLUS, merch and RAFFLE to boot!!
Entry $10 (includes a copy of the zine!)
FFSE: MiXtape X (2026)
Our first album release of 2026, by Featherston Free Sound Ensemble – courtesy of Antony Milton’s Troubled Times Tapes label. Available on cassette or download.
Listen
“Every few weeks the peace of a small hall in the otherwise quiet tiny town of Featherston at the very bottom of the North Island of New Zealand/Aotearoa is disrupted by a gathering of eccentric misfits with a ragtag collection of noise making electronics. Old tape decks playing home made loops, dusty turntables spinning even dustier vinyl festooned with tags of sellotape, and glitchy cheap effects pedals disrupting the signal of an array of instruments that are being force-fed into weirdly small amplifiers.
“The recordings here in are from a variety of said get togethers and performances. Noise collage meets odd techno dub butted up against distorted rock. Tapiness wins.” – Antony Milton
credits
released January 14, 2026
Guy Walker – turntable, cassette loops
Alex V – turntable, MIDI, sampler
Dave Edwards – bass, e-drum, clarinet, guitar
Recorded Oct-Nov 2025
Edited and mastered (somewhat) by A.M
Cover photos by Guy Walker
Further listening: Featherston Free Sound Ensemble
Live 2025
A late EP coda to the year –
Tracks 1-4 recorded live at the Bakehouse, 29-11-25 – opening act for Featherston Free Sound Ensemble /
Tracks 5-6 recorded 08 February 2025 at the Carterton Club.
includes two pieces from Poems & Lyrics in the Scotch Dialect (1856)
and the first live performance of Assembling Disconsonant
Tracklist
Further listening: live albums
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.
in the Scotch Dialect
in the English Dialect
Live 2025
Featherston Free Sound Ensemble
A new collaboration with turntablists Guy Walker and Alex V – free improv electronica for the regions.
Live @ the Bakehouse 29-11-25
Our live debut – more to come in 2026!
Experiments Under the Hills
October-November, with Guy Walker and Alex V
First Experiments
September-October, with Guy Walker
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
Sparkle Tube
Dave and Antony duo
Smudge
Winter was too cold for the garage, so we played ‘lounge music’
Thanks for listening! See you in 2026...
Live 2022-24
Live solo electric tracks, 2022-2024
Recorded at:
- the Miracle Room, Featherston NZ – 10 June 2022
- Solway Showgrounds, Masterton NZ – 19 August 2023
- 2MBS Fine Music, Sydney, Australia – 20 October 2024
Dave Edwards – electric guitar, loop pedal, harmonica (2,5), e-drum (7), banjo (8), vocal, lyrics
John Collie (1834-1893) – lyrics (5-6)
2024 roundup
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:
Quietism
January: Solo suite for electric guitar, bass and electronic percussion.
The Margins
April: New combination of old free improv collaborators Simon O’Rorke and Antony Milton.
“A virtual infusion of ‘ants-in-the-pants’ for the entomologically deficient.” –Antony Milton
“The album blends Antony Milton‘s and my styles, with Dave Edwards often occupying a pivotal midpoint. It’s an exhilarating session.” – Simon O’Rorke
The Troubled Times: The Latest Poll / Boa
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.
Poems & Lyrics by John Collie (1856)
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):
The Troubled Times: Pyramid Club – live 28/09/24
September: A long-overdue return (after six years!) to live performance in Wellington, and The Troubled Times‘ first appearance there at the Pyramid Club.
Dolby FM interview
October: A career-spanning longform interview, telling my life story and the background influences behind the music.
Live in Sydney 20/10/24
October: An international performance across the ditch :
The Sydney performance can now be heard on the Live 2022-24 album:
Jovial Blade 7″
November: A new solo 7″ on vinyl (first one since 2016):
“Some seriously scrambled dissonance. 80’s vocals hits 60’s 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
A Second Sun t-shirt
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!)
More to come in 2025!
7″ singles
2x new 7″ lathe cut singles:
Jovial Blade / Extant Body & Weight
“Some seriously scrambled dissonance. 80’s vocals hits 60’s electro/cut-up nonsense whilst smothering an ever mutating bassline […] the track contains more musical ideas in its 5 mins than some exhibit in some musical careers.” – Simon Baker, What Lies Beneath
(Dave solo – A-side is bass & electronics, B-side is clarinet & electronics)
and
The Troubled Times: Cellophane
Discs manufactured in NZ by Johnny Electric
Continue reading “7″ singles”Quietism (2024)
Early 2024 – the first new recordings made since the 25-year-spanning 2CD compilation; the start of the fiffdimension 2nd quarter-century.
Listen
Video
About
By Dave Edwards– early 2024, summertime in NZ –
Solo suite for electric guitar, bass and electric drums – one single take of each, using overdubs to create a virtual trio.
Tracks 1-3 and 12 recorded early January 2024 – the rest recorded 6th February 2024, in Featherston, Aotearoa / New Zealand
The title ‘Quietism‘ refers not so much to the sound, but to the absence of vocals – or any reference to current news or politics. Part of the fiffdimension aesthetic is a certain wilful irrelevance, and ignoring of trends.
The last track ‘Hypnopompia‘ (waking up) experiments with a possible new ambient style.
The cover art is an abstract scribble drawing – attempting to bypass conscious self-doubt and create ‘something… anything’. A theme also explored in works such as Assembling Disconsonant (2023).
fiffdimension 