David Knight (musician)
Encyclopedia
David Lloyd Knight is an American
singer-songwriter, composer and music producer from San Jose, California
. His music is a fusion of acoustic and electronic elements, blending self-produced live and sampled music with multiple instruments. He plays widely in the San Francisco Bay Area
and tours Malaysia regularly.
Knight also contributes as a vocalist and guitarist in Panthelion, an experimental jazz outfit led by Endika Currier who is reputed to be the founder of a new musical genre known as Nu Class. He was the lead singer of ambient rock band Day One Symphony until early 2008, and was one-third of the now-defunct ambient jazz trio Polyluv.
in Audio Production from San Francisco State University
. In 2002, he helped form Day One Symphony. The four-member band went on to enjoy a steady growth of popularity in the Bay Area. In 2005, the band released an EP titled A Vicious Circle and went on tour with dredg
and Circa Survive
. Aaron Axelsen, Music Director at LIVE 105.3, played tracks from the EP and invited the band to play on air and participate in some Bay Area concerts.
In May 2006, while on their way to a dredg
concert in San Francisco, the members of the band met with a road accident. Knight, who was driving, suffered a broken leg and collapsed lung while the rest sustained injuries leading all of them to be hospitalised. The car crash forced the cancellation of the band’s scheduled appearance at LIVE 105’s annual BFD concert at Shoreline Amphitheater.
Unable to regroup after the trauma of the accident, Day One Symphony disbanded in early 2008.
, and attended the Rainforest World Music Festival
in Kuching
, left him inspired and propelled him to hone his solo music.
He released his first solo EP titled Mandala over three parts online from late-2008 to early-2009, capturing his experience in the Asian country and his journey as a solo independent musician.
Before returning to Kuala Lumpur for a tour in late-2009, Knight released a five-track EP titled The Sensation of Flying that brings the storytelling quality of his music to the forefront with a focus on breezy melodies and their accompanying words.
Knight’s music combines his expertise in electronic programming with his skills as a multi-instrumentalist. A typical live performance sees him surrounded by an assortment of equipment including guitar, sampler, kalimba and flute on stage. The result is an integration of homemade samples, live looping and vocal layering.
singer-songwriter circuit. He has performed in notable music festivals, such as the annual KL Sing Song and Moonshine, as well as popular music venues including No Black Tie, Cloth and Clef and Laundry. Some of his solo shows featured collaborations with Malaysian singer-songwriters Jerome Kugan and Yuna
. To date, he has toured Malaysia twice.
In 2007, Knight produced music for the stage adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe
’s The Tell-Tale Heart
directed by Gavin Yap and staged at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter, composer and music producer from San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. His music is a fusion of acoustic and electronic elements, blending self-produced live and sampled music with multiple instruments. He plays widely in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and tours Malaysia regularly.
Knight also contributes as a vocalist and guitarist in Panthelion, an experimental jazz outfit led by Endika Currier who is reputed to be the founder of a new musical genre known as Nu Class. He was the lead singer of ambient rock band Day One Symphony until early 2008, and was one-third of the now-defunct ambient jazz trio Polyluv.
Musical beginnings
Knight has a BABachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Audio Production from San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
. In 2002, he helped form Day One Symphony. The four-member band went on to enjoy a steady growth of popularity in the Bay Area. In 2005, the band released an EP titled A Vicious Circle and went on tour with dredg
Dredg
Dredg is an American rock group formed in 1993 in Los Gatos, California. The band consists of vocalist Gavin Hayes, guitarist Mark Engles, bassist Drew Roulette and drummer Dino Campanella....
and Circa Survive
Circa Survive
Circa Survive is an American alternative rock band from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suburb of Doylestown, formed in 2004. The band consists of vocalist Anthony Green, former singer of Saosin and members of the now-defunct This Day Forward....
. Aaron Axelsen, Music Director at LIVE 105.3, played tracks from the EP and invited the band to play on air and participate in some Bay Area concerts.
In May 2006, while on their way to a dredg
Dredg
Dredg is an American rock group formed in 1993 in Los Gatos, California. The band consists of vocalist Gavin Hayes, guitarist Mark Engles, bassist Drew Roulette and drummer Dino Campanella....
concert in San Francisco, the members of the band met with a road accident. Knight, who was driving, suffered a broken leg and collapsed lung while the rest sustained injuries leading all of them to be hospitalised. The car crash forced the cancellation of the band’s scheduled appearance at LIVE 105’s annual BFD concert at Shoreline Amphitheater.
Unable to regroup after the trauma of the accident, Day One Symphony disbanded in early 2008.
Solo works
In 2008, Knight began to create his own music, blending acoustic and electronic instruments. A one-month trip to Malaysia, in which he performed his new music and collaborated with local singer-songwriter Jerome Kugan in Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, and attended the Rainforest World Music Festival
Rainforest World Music Festival
The Rainforest World Music Festival is an annual 3-day music festival celebrating the diversity of world music, held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, with daytime music workshops, cultural displays, craft displays, food stalls, and main-stage evening concerts...
in Kuching
Kuching
Kuching , officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia....
, left him inspired and propelled him to hone his solo music.
He released his first solo EP titled Mandala over three parts online from late-2008 to early-2009, capturing his experience in the Asian country and his journey as a solo independent musician.
Before returning to Kuala Lumpur for a tour in late-2009, Knight released a five-track EP titled The Sensation of Flying that brings the storytelling quality of his music to the forefront with a focus on breezy melodies and their accompanying words.
Knight’s music combines his expertise in electronic programming with his skills as a multi-instrumentalist. A typical live performance sees him surrounded by an assortment of equipment including guitar, sampler, kalimba and flute on stage. The result is an integration of homemade samples, live looping and vocal layering.
The Malaysia connection
In Malaysia, Knight has become a familiar name in the Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
singer-songwriter circuit. He has performed in notable music festivals, such as the annual KL Sing Song and Moonshine, as well as popular music venues including No Black Tie, Cloth and Clef and Laundry. Some of his solo shows featured collaborations with Malaysian singer-songwriters Jerome Kugan and Yuna
Yuna (singer)
Yunalis Zarai or commercially known as Yuna, a Malaysian singer-songwriter.Yuna is conquering Malaysia with her acoustic guitar and winning folk pop tunes – enchanting listeners with the gentle warble in her voice, a flair for old-timey pop songcraft, a bit of Feist’s soul and subtlety, and...
. To date, he has toured Malaysia twice.
In 2007, Knight produced music for the stage adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
’s The Tell-Tale Heart
The Tell-Tale Heart
"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in 1843. It follows an unnamed narrator who insists on his sanity after murdering an old man with a "vulture eye". The murder is carefully calculated, and the murderer hides the body by dismembering it and hiding it under the...
directed by Gavin Yap and staged at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre.
EP
- 2005 A Vicious Circle (Day One Symphony)
- 2007 [Untitled last EP] (Day One Symphony)
- 2009 Mandala
- 2009 The Sensation of Flying
- Collected Works 2005-08
- Collected Ambient Works 2003-07
Music production
- 2000 Search and Destroy (theatre) SJCC - Score
- 2001 The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
(theatre) SJCC - Score - 2003 MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(theatre) SJCC - Score - 2006 Bloom Energy Drink (online advertisement) - Score
- 2007 The Tell-Tale HeartThe Tell-Tale Heart"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in 1843. It follows an unnamed narrator who insists on his sanity after murdering an old man with a "vulture eye". The murder is carefully calculated, and the murderer hides the body by dismembering it and hiding it under the...
(theatre) KLPac - Score