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David First (born August 20, 1953) is an American
The Music of David First
Kyle Gann's blog review of Privacy Issues
New Music Box review of Privacy Issues
interview with David First in Pitchfork Media, Pitchfork
Kyle Gann recommended composer: David First
Listen/Watch: Members of TVOTR, Liturgy Record an Occupy Wall Street Anthem
, ''PitchFork.com''. 1953 births Living people 21st-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers 21st-century American composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians {{US-composer-20thC-stub
David First (born August 20, 1953) is an American composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
. His music most often deals with drones and interference beats, the latter aligning his music with that of Alvin Lucier
Alvin Augustus Lucier Jr. (May 14, 1931 – December 1, 2021) was an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University in Mi ...
. He usually plays computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
or guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
and has led the World Casio Quartet
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
, Joy Buzzers and The Notekillers The Notekillers are an instrumental avant-rock band based out of both Philadelphia and Brooklyn. The current line up consists of David First (Guitar), Stephen Bilenky (Bass), and Barry Halkin (Drums). The band officially began in 1977 and was closel ...
which originally existed from 1977–81 and reformed in 2004. He is also a member of Matter Waves, which includes Kid Millions
''Kid Millions'' (1934) is an American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth, produced by Samuel Goldwyn Productions, and starring Eddie Cantor. Its elaborate "Ice Cream Fantasy Finale" production number was filmed in three-strip Technicolor, one ...
on drums and Bernard Gann
Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname.
The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...
on bass, and the music collective New Party Systems.
His albums include 1991's ''Resolver'', instrumental pieces influenced by minimalism
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
and 2002's relatively pop-oriented ''Universary'', which consists of "songs and drones". More recent releases include 2010's ''We're Here to Help'' (Prophase Records) by The Notekillers and ''Privacy Issues'', a 3-CD set of droneworks on the XI label.
In 1995 First, along with visual artist Patricia Smith created an opera, ''The Manhattan Book of the Dead'', which was presented at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...
's Annex Theater in 1995 and The Washaus in Potsdam, Germany in 1996.
First received a 2001 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award.
In January 2012, the music collective, New Party Systems, an ensemble containing First, released a song First wrote (C2011 Silent Graph Music ASCAP), "We Are" –– an anthem for the 99%
We are the 99% is a political slogan widely used and coined during the 2011 Occupy movement. The phrase directly refers to the income and wealth inequality in the United States, with a concentration of wealth among the top-earning 1%. It ref ...
, with a video by director, Toni Comas
''Bag Boy Lover Boy'' is a 2014 comedy horror film that was directed by Andres Torres. The movie had its world premiere on July 23, 2014 at the Fantasia Festival and stars Jon Wachter as a hotdog vendor who finds himself becoming the muse of a mani ...
.
Sources
External links
The Music of David First
Kyle Gann's blog review of Privacy Issues
New Music Box review of Privacy Issues
interview with David First in Pitchfork Media, Pitchfork
Kyle Gann recommended composer: David First
New Party System
Listen/Watch: Members of TVOTR, Liturgy Record an Occupy Wall Street Anthem
, ''PitchFork.com''. 1953 births Living people 21st-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers 21st-century American composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians {{US-composer-20thC-stub