On the Edge of a Dream

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Swellnet Dispatch

Andrew Kidman has a long history of moving against the prevailing currents, of stubbornly following his own curiosity and working at his own pace. His relationship to the online world is a good example of this. The internet's firehose of free content is a challenge to anyone who wants to take the time to research and create, but Kidman has never relented to those forces and his back catalogue of books, film, and music is testament to his unhurried application to craft. Each 'release' defying the social media news cycle and becoming timeless in their own way.

Five years ago he embarked on his most recent project, teaming up with Ellis Ericson to document George Greenough's semi-mysterious Edge Board design. 'On the Edge of a Dream' is the result of that half-decade of application and it's an immersive account of the Edge Board, from the late-60s roots to shaping their own modern personalised equipment and riding it at the same waves as Greenough's test runs.

Kidman and Ericson have made both a film and book, including input from Greenough and art from Barry McGee, and it'd be worth stepping out of the firehose and taking a nice slow offline drink from their barrel.

Follow this link for further instructions and stay tuned for a interview with Kidman on Swellnet.

Comments

spuddyjack's picture
spuddyjack's picture
spuddyjack Wednesday, 5 Sep 2018 at 6:55pm

Nice . . . a bit tantalising . . . a bit mysterioso.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Wednesday, 5 Sep 2018 at 7:36pm

Great isn't it? It's one of those designs I've always wondered about yet never ridden, never truly understood the concept either to be honest. I was planning to rectify this by way of a story, perhaps with Phil Myers who's been shaping some wonderful examples of the design, when Kidman sent me this info. He's already done the hard work! Well, he and Ellis, and I look forward to watching/reading their findings.

crg's picture
crg's picture
crg Wednesday, 5 Sep 2018 at 7:52pm

I can recall an interview with Rasta and I think he was experimenting with these and said he blew his knee out as it went so fast and as you went to turn it it would just grab and turn so hard and not slide.

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Thursday, 6 Sep 2018 at 5:57am

seen a lot of Ellis riding it (and Kidman) out the Point.......they look fast and very free.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Friday, 26 Oct 2018 at 2:44pm

I watched the film on Wednesday night, read the book last night, and I'm gonna watch the film again tonight, this time with beer(s) and a notebook.

There's no-one out there doing what Kidman and Ellis are currently doing. You can complain about the pace and the banality of the internet, and I'd tend to agree with you, but it's not the only gig in town. These blokes switched off, took five years to complete the project, diving deep into design, way deep, too deep for dilettantes and adult learners to understand, only lifers will appreciate it, and probably only a small percentage of them.

But thank fuck someone is doing it.

Don't be put off by the gentle single fin glide of Ellis in the clip above. Once he makes his multi-fin edge designs he comes on like a bastard mix of Cheyne Horan and Shane Herring: a low slung stance on a perpetual motion machine.

Last song is called 'Terminal Velocity', Kidman on guitar, another ex-Narra fella on bass, and some lord on keys winding up the tension as the instruments break and heel, they solo into parts unknown then return in a thundering three-way riff, the screen flashing images of pumping Lennox, surfboards being sanded and glassed, George being George, and Ellis ripping hell.

The band call 'emselves Area Pin.

Few weeks back we ran an article on here about surf music.

Nothing comes close to this.

EDIT: Review to come next week.

bill-poster's picture
bill-poster's picture
bill-poster Saturday, 27 Oct 2018 at 8:42am

That was a good enough review right there.