David Starfire

Of Creole descent, David Starfire comes from a musical family with roots in New Orleans Jazz. His grandfather, Oscar Rouzan, was a well known New Orleans horn player that performed with Paul Simon, Al Hirt, and notable others. His aunt, Wanda Rouzan, is famous a New Orleans dixieland jazz vocalist dubbed the "Sweetheart of New Orleans".[1] At 8 years old, David first had piano lessons and then moved to the guitar, which was his preferred instrument. David began composing songs by the time he was 13 on his electric guitar and was influenced by classic rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, and the Beatles. He was in various rock bands that performed at parties and the yearly high school talent show. At Bishop Lynch High School, he was a member of the drum core in the marching band and played bass in the jazz band. He was voted "Most Musical" by his graduating class. At 17, he began recording songs on a four-track recorder that he received for his graduation. By the time he was 17, he was playing many instruments (guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, vocals) and multi-tracking the recording sessions as a one-man band. In the summer of his 18th birthday, he recorded the entire Moving Pictures album by RUSH and playing all the instruments himself.[2]

At age 19, David was a member of industrial dance band Lesson Seven with vocalist Scott Crow and keyboardist Wynne Martin. The Dallas-based group toured nationally with Nine Inch Nails, Filter, and Skinny Puppy, and opened up for The Revolting Cocks, Ministry, and many others. They had success with an international single "Radiation" that used vocal samples from 1952 movie "Duck and Cover". They had successful radio play for the song "Crown" on alternative and college radio stations across the US. The band merged with the band ITT to form Audio Assault. After the breakup of the bands, David moved to NYC to pursue his David Wayne solo project when he was 23. He was managed by Shaun Edwardes (Angelo Badalamenti, Julee Cruise, Fine Young Cannibals) and was courted by Reprise records. He recorded an EP that featured the single "Believe" that was played on alternative and college radio across the US. It was suggested that David form a band and created Stain, which lasted about a year. He then co-wrote songs with Jonathan Lacey from the band The Beautiful (the drummer, Frank, is now with Guns N' Roses) for about a year with Paul Slocum. They parted ways then David and Paul formed the band Super Secret Weapon with bass player Koa Stephens and drummer Stephen Dupree. The band played shows with Filter, Stabbing Westward, and performed shows in the south. David and Koa moved to San Francisco and started the band Cellophane Masses with drummer Lliam Heart. The band quickly became popular in the Bay Area produced an album titled "Senses of Seven" and opened up for notable bands like Buckethead and Love & Rockets.

It was in San Francisco that David developed an interest in world music and studied artists from India and the Middle East. His growing interest in world music coincided with a personal spiritual growth fostered through yoga and meditation. He decided to start a solo project that fused world music with electronic music under the moniker David Starfire. His unique style of mixing Indian and Middle Eastern sounds with electronic western music led to several DJ gigs in the West Coast and then beyond. In 2004 he was the first American breakbeat DJ to complete a DJ club tour throughout India. In 2006, David was signed to Six Degrees Records and released 2 albums and 5 EP's. David's music has been featured in video games and TV programs including Lie to Me, Outsourced, MTV, Showtime, and HBO. Considered a favorite in the burning man, and belly dance community, his music has also been featured on several belly dance DVD's and CD's.[1] His song “Shout it Out” was in regular rotation at Starbucks.

David has performed around the world in exotic places such as India, Thailand, Canada, Costa Rica, Thailand, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and most major cities in Europe. His DJ set consists of him playing percussion (and sometimes the Thai Phin) with various dancers on stage. He performed with a full band dubbed the "David Starfire Live Ensemble Ensemble" from 2009 to 2013 and featured various musicians, vocalists, and dancers. David's signature sound has led him to perform public and private shows for George Lucas Films, Samsung, Sprint, Beats Audio, Google, Siemens, Nokia, HP, Symantec, Virgin Galactic, Roland, Digg, MacWorld, Best Buy, Flaunt Magazine, CAA, Red Bull, Warner Music, Atlantic Music, Industrial Light and Magic, Chobani Yogurt, Hotel W, City of San Francisco, and many others.

David has collaborated with Afrika Bambaataa, Ooah (of the Glitch Mob), Natacha Atlas, Cheb i Sabbah, Gaudi, Govinda, Ganga Giri, FreQ Nasty, Desert Dwellers, Beats Antique, William Close, and members of Beck's band. He produced an official remix for Sizzla, and he's had two #1 bootleg remixes on the Hype Machine that included the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. David's songs have been remixed by the likes of Govinda, iLL Gates, Gaudi, An-ten-nae, Desert Dwellers, Sidecar Tommy (Beats Antique), Kalya Scintilla, and Kaya Project.

In 2014, David created his own label, Amrita Recordings, with worldwide distribution through Label Engine. The label has released 2 albums, 5 EP's, and several singles.

In 2016, David released his Karuna album where he traveled to the Thai-Burma border-zones to collaborate with Burmese refugee musicians, which was a first for an electronic artist. All of the proceeds went to the non-profit "Thai Freedom House" for education for Burmese refugee children. Other collaborators on the album are Alex Grey (the well-known visionary painter), William Close and the Earth Harp (runner-up on America's Got Talent), and Govinda. The world-renowned digital painter, Android Jones, designed the album cover.

• Official website
• David Starfire at Six Degrees Records