[3] The VOM works laid the groundwork for subsequent 1970s From Scratch rhythm-based compositions, including "Out-In" (1976), "Drumwheel" (1977) and "Triad #1" (1978), which was scored for two pianos, one played via a long rosined line attached to its interior.

Their first major work of this period was "Gung Ho 1,2,3D" (1980), named after the slogan of the workers' co-operative movement established in China by New Zealander Rewi Alley (who was the subject of a book by From Scratch member Geoff Chapple).

Musically the piece explores a series of seven slowly evolving three-part polyrhythms, the first combining time signatures of length 3, 4, 5, the second 4, 5, 6, and so on up to 9, 10, 11 (with the fourth player taking on a drone role).

Names of Pacific islands contaminated by nuclear tests are sung and shouted during the piece, which ends with an urgent polyrhythmic PVC pipe section, followed by the solemn tolling of aluminium bell-poles.

A large crowd gathered, unexpectedly prompting a French fire-eater, on whose turf the group had unwittingly trespassed, to wade in amongst the performers and threaten to incinerate them, together with their PVC pipes.

[8] From Scratch later collaborated with film-maker Gregor Nicholas on a short film of "Pacific 3,2,1,Zero", which won the Grand Prix and first prize in its category at the 1994 Cannes/Midem Visual Music Awards.

The following year From Scratch regrouped with new members Neville Hall (a saxophonist) and James McCarthy (a student of Dadson's at the University of Auckland Elam School of Fine Arts).

It was performed again (in the Auckland University quad and the Titirangi War Memorial Hall carpark) for the 273 Moons concerts in 1995 and in Jakarta in 1997 for the International Percussion Festival.

"Fax To Paris" (1990) was a short piece protesting continued French nuclear testing in the Pacific, featuring shouted vocals, hand-clapping and tone-trees.

These had been replaced by "Eye-drum" stations, made from shorter lengths of PVC pipe with hard plastic membranes at the playing end and playable with mallets.

Also in 1995, From Scratch marked its 21st birthday with a celebratory concert series called "273 Moons", held in Auckland at the Maidment Theatre and the Titirangi War Memorial Hall.

An initial version of the piece, titled "Homage to the God of Hockets", was performed in 1997 at WOMAD in Auckland and in Indonesia (Denpasar, Bandung and the Jakarta Percussion Festival).

Titled "Global Hockets" partly to reflect this international collaboration, the multi-media work featured projected graphics which reacted in real time to the sound.

From Scratch premiered "Global Hockets" at the Wellington Arts Festival in early 1998, before touring the show in Hungary, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands throughout the remainder of the year.

After the "Global Hockets" European tour, Darryn Harkness left From Scratch and the group continued as a trio, developing a new piece called "Pacific Plate".

Referencing volcanic and tectonic themes, it was described as "a tribute to the generally dormant, largely silent, seldom seen, and often forgotten forces, that have shaped the face of the planet over millennia".

The work again incorporated improvised sections bridging structured modules, and introduced more new instruments, including the "Water cooler drum kit", "Rod-Baschet" (named in tribute to the Baschet Brothers, with stroked glass rods activating a stainless steel resonator disc), Foley trays and "Gloop-drum" (a combination drum and string instrument, reminiscent of the ektara).

There were no more hints of any possible renewal of group activity until 2014, when Dadson, Darryn Harkness and Adrian Croucher reunited for a single performance titled "Homage to the Philosophy of Lao Tse",[10] a percussive improvisation structured around lines spoken from the Tao Te Ching.

[11] A number of past From Scratch members were present at the premiere, and the film (which screened on Air New Zealand flights for a time) helped revive interest in the group.

The two-and-a-half-hour improvised show had "accompanists" Dadson, Darryn Harkness and Adrian Croucher joined at pre-determined times by a series of guest performers, including fellow From Scratch alumni Geoff Chapple, Don McGlashan, Walter Muller, James McCarthy and Shane Currey.

In 2017, From Scratch re-grouped in preparation for "546 Moons", a survey exhibition at Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery of instruments and memorabilia, curated by Andrew Clifford, together with a series of performances titled "Heart'Heart" in the 2018 Auckland Arts Festival.

In addition there were short collaborative works with Dan Beban and Nell Thomas from the group "Orchestra of Spheres", Chris O'Connor, Pitch Black, and the New Pacific Music Ensemble.

[citation needed] The group presented a new work entitled "Pax/Pacifica", described as a "conch-call to the fallout of nuclear testing and climate change in the Pacific" and performed by Dadson, Croucher, Currey and Harkness.