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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Available exclusively via Bandcamp in North America and Forte Distribution in the EU/UK. UK/EU friends, check your local indie retailer to avoid punishing shipping.

    Includes unlimited streaming of First Flight via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 10 days
    edition of 18 
    Purchasable with gift card

      $20 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $5 USD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    "First Flight" is the uncanny all improv first meeting of Chris Forsyth (guitar), Dave Harrington (guitar, electronics), Ryan Jewell (drums, percussion), and Spencer Zahn (bass), recorded live at Nublu in NYC on September 20, 2019 and released on wax a year later. A sparkling, telepathic collection of leaderless group mind deep groove momentum.

    "First Flight REDUX" is Dave Harrington's radical re-imagining of "First Flight," released one year later still (September 2021). Comprising 12 tracks (compared to "First Flight's" single flowing performance) and incorporating extensive overdubs and remixing by Harrington, this is its own very surprising thing, a whole new step into the mirror, as if Can had parachuted into the present and just picked up where they left off making music with today's studio tools.

    Includes unlimited streaming of First Flight via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    edition of 18  4 remaining
    Purchasable with gift card

      $25 USD or more 

     

  • First Flight test pressing, dated 8/26/20
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Single copy of test pressing for Chris Forsyth / Dave Harrington / Ryan Jewell / Spencer Zahn's "First Flight." It's incorrectly labeled "First Friends" on the label but then again, I became friends with Dave and Spencer at this gig so maybe it's not wrong.

    Includes unlimited streaming of First Flight via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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about

Remember live music? "First Flight" documents about 40 minutes of jams recorded during the third week of my September residency at Nublu last year, and, for me, this show was just about the most enjoyable hour of music I played all year.

The ideal of the residency was to mix things up with special guests, different band lineups, and varied set lists, keeping things fresh and new week-to-week, and this show was the wild card of the bunch.

That's because although Ryan and I have played together for years, and Dave and Spencer have played together for years, neither half of the band had ever met each other. I was tangentially aware of Dave and his music and was intrigued by what I'd heard, so I thought it was a cool idea when Chris Tart, the residency promoter, suggested a collaboration.

So, about 30 minutes after we'd all heard each others voices for the first time, we got up and played for a little over an hour, uninterrupted. The only thing discussed beforehand was that we shouldn't discuss anything beforehand - not a key or a riff to start with, nothing - so as to preserve maximum spontaneity.

I think this music demonstrates a real connection on stage. In other words, each player was completely present and actively listening on the bandstand. Listening back, there are moments I can hear Ryan saying - musically - "Hey, let's go over here! Check this out!," or Spencer being like "Wouldn't it be cool to go down this path?" And we followed. And it was cool.

In my mind, that listening thing is the number one most important factor in any collaboration or cooperative effort, but especially in improvised music.

And I think it's fair to say that a little more listening, a little more presence, would do the whole world some good right about now, don't you think?

-Chris Forsyth

Note: 10% of all pre-sales of "First Flight" on July 3 will be donated to Black Lives Matter.

credits

released September 4, 2020

Chris Forsyth - guitar
Dave Harrington - guitar, electronics
Ryan Jewell - drums, percussion
Spencer Zahn - bass

Recorded by Onur Gül, Live @ Nublu, NYC, September 20, 2019
Mixed by Jeff Zeigler @ Uniform Recording, Philadelphia
Mastered by James Plotkin
Photos by Tre Cassetta
Design by Eliza Weber

Produced by Brucie Millions

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Chris Forsyth Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

“...a scrappy and mystical historian… His music humanizes the element of control in rock classicism (and) turns it into a woolly but disciplined ritual.”
-NY Times

“...a near-perfect balance between 70s rock tradition and present day experimentation,”
-Pitchfork

“...one of rock’s most lyrical guitar improvisors,”
-NPR Music

Contact: info@thechrisforsyth.com
Booking: al@highroadtouring.com
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