The Electricka Zoo/Badger Sett, Split [Single] (2016)
This is a split 7” single the first side is The Electricka Zoo with ‘Fragmentary Alpha Waves’ and the second side is Badger Sett with ‘Eats His Own Brain’; though it’s a Peter King Lathe Cut with no labels on either side, just clear – so you sorta get whichever track you get and there’s not always a way of knowing unless you’re studying the grooves and lengths hard. And frankly, I prefer the surprise element. You can tell which is which though – both ensembles feature Dave Edwards – aka Dave Black – you find out his stuff and all about him at his label/handle fiffdimension. The Zoo is Dave on bass and keyboards with Darrel Hannon on electric drums and it’s a fun wee bit of improv-groove. Badger Sett has Dave on steel-string guitar and such Wellington luminaries as Chris Prosser (violin), Julie Bevan (nylon-string guitar) and Michael Hall (clarinet); the result, a jaunty stroll through folk-feels. Dave has been a restless musical soul – combining elements of spoken-word, acoustic and electric noise and improv and outsider-folk (sometimes within the same piece). I’ve had the pleasure of performing with him at poetry readings and as part of the rambling, sporadically appearing band The Winter. We did some albums and shows and we seem to be on a permanent hiatus really, but you never know. I do know, however, that once a year or so Dave is going to message me or deliver a copy of something he’s created. And I am always intrigued to hear it and genuinely interested and generally pleased that I bothered and impressed that he still bothers. It’s a hard road and maybe a thankless task. But that won’t stop Dave and his fiffdimension curios. Good on him. The Vinyl Countdown is a document of every LP I listen to, brand new discoveries and old-old favourites; extremely pre-loved, previously abandoned or with the shrink-wrap having just been removed it’s all here at The Vinyl Countdown