Electronic Works 1976-1977

When people associate composer David First with his musical resume, anyone goes straight to his late 70's avant punk band, The Notekillers and their influential 1980 single The Zipper. Prior to his time in the basements of Philadelphia, he had already played in Cecil Taylor's ensemble and after the Notekillers broke up he moved to New York City in the early 80's, taking root in the downtown NYC avant garde scene. It was there that First honed his craft for experimental composition and ambient drone which still continues to the present day. Though this narrative made sense, there was a piece missing in the puzzle of First's musical background. In 1976, two years after playing with Taylor and the year before starting the Notekillers, he enrolled in a class in electronic music at Princeton in the department headed at the time by legendary electronic composer Milton Babbitt. During his time at Princeton, First was introduced to the classical electronic music studio there, a lonely outpost