David First is an American composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

. His music most often deals with drones and interference beat

Beat (acoustics)

In acoustics, a beat is an interference between two sounds of slightly different frequencies, perceived as periodic variations in volume whose rate is the difference between the two frequencies....

s, the latter aligning his music with that of Alvin Lucier

Alvin Lucier

Alvin Lucier is an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University, Lucier was a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union, which included Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and...

. He usually plays the synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

 and has performed with Joseph Celli

Joseph Celli

Joseph Celli is an American musician and composer specializing in contemporary and improvised music for oboe and English horn...

 and the World Casio Quartet as well as his own group the Joy Buzzers.

His albums include 1991's Resolver, typical instrumental pieces influenced by minimalism

Minimalism

Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...

 and the instrumentation of popular music and 2002's relatively popular Universery, which consists of "songs and drones".

In 2001 he was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts

Foundation for Contemporary Arts

Foundation for Contemporary Arts , originally known as Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City founded by artists Jasper Johns , John Cage, Elaine de Kooning and others in 1963. FCA offers financial support and recognition to contemporary...

Grants to Artists Award.

External links

• The Music of David First official website
• Kyle Gann recommended composer: David First