David First
The Consummation of Right and Wrong
David First likes to use the phrase "the virtuosity of slowness" to describe his musical philosophy. In The Consummation of Right and Wrong, he and his eight-piece ensemble, The Western Enisphere, practice this virtuosity to great effect in closely examining the universes that fall between the cracks of convention, reflecting a wide continuum of complex relationships, all the while creating music that is simply ravishing to listen to. This is "drone music" as dynamic organism, moving from compac…
Same Animal, Different Cages Vol. 4: Sitar Music of North Brooklyn
**2020 stock** Sitar Music of North Brooklyn, the fourth volume in American composer David First’s “Same Animal, Different Cages” series, is perhaps one of his strongest musical statements since he radically re-invented how to approach the acoustic guitar in volume one. While First’s sitar improvisations are engrossing and pleasurable to hear, easy listening they are not. This is First challenging himself and challenging you, the listener, to grapple with his unorthodox and experimental approach…
Same Animal, Different Cages Vol. 3: Civil War Songs
"In the third volume of the Same Animal, Different Cages series, American composer David First does a 180 from the purely sound-for-sound's sake explorations of the first two volumes and gives eleven emotional outpourings performed exclusively on solo harmonica. Despite this minimalist single-instrument approach, First makes each of these songs sound fully realized; anything more would simply be crowding the sonic space. First has produced perhaps one of the first folk-music responses to …
The Complete Gramavision Session (1989)
Pogus Productions is proud to release The Complete Gramavision Session by The World Casio Quartet, composer David First’s 1980s microtonal group. The members of the group were David First, Esther Sandrof, and Brian Charles, all playing Casio CZ-1000’s and Kevin Sparke on a Casio CZ-101. I had the opportunity to see them perform once or twice back then, and it was indeed a magical and mind-bending thing to experience. Now, finally, with this release, everyone can have a listen as well.Here’s what…
Same Animal, Different Cages Vol. 2: Solomonos for Analog Synthe
Yellow vinyl edition of 100 with download card. Fabrica Records announces the second volume in the Same Animal, Different Cages series by American composer and improviser David First. On this second installment in the Same Animal, Different Cages series of tonal investigations, David First dons his no-madder-than-you scientist's lab coat and proceeds to fire up and overheat his newest subject, a Korg MS-20. The resulting six tracks are characterized by rapid-fire analog oscillations, relentlessl…
Same Animal, Different Cages Vol. 1: Etudes For Acoustic Guitar
Fabrica Records announces the first volume in the Same Animal, Different Cages series by American composer and improviser David First. On Études for Acoustic Guitar, First twists and bends notes from his steel-string acoustic guitar, an instrument traditionally associated with American folk, country and blues music. And in fact, those genres are central to First's explorations here, constituting portions of a palette that also encompasses jazz and Indian classical music. In this series of s…
Privacy Issues (droneworks 1996 - 2009)
Long overdue overview of composer David First's drone works. This special and specially priced set (3 CDs for the price of 2) is comprised of nine works composed between 1996 and 2009. Featuring Chris McIntyre and Peter Zummo, trombones; 'Blue' Gene Tyranny, keyboards; and The Black Jackets Ensemble. 'This was something unexpected and truly different: pulsing electronic textures that derived their rhythm from the beating patterns of closely-tune pitches -- as if Alvin Lucier and Philip Glass had…