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25 Facts About David Gamson

1.

David Gamson is perhaps best known for his distinctive synthesizer work and arrangements as a member of the popular 1980s pop band Scritti Politti for three of their studio albums.

2.

David Gamson was born in 1961, the son of Arnold Gamson, a conductor, composer and founder of the American Opera Society, and Annabelle Gamson, a noted dancer and choreographer.

3.

David Gamson spent his infant years in Italy, where his father ran an opera company, and in the mid-1960s the family returned to the US and settled in Westchester County, New York.

4.

At 15, David Gamson was experimenting with his first synthesizer, an ARP 2600 his father Arnold had purchased.

5.

David Gamson took a job at the county of Westchester doing administrative work for parks and recreation, because he needed a job and had a family.

6.

Maher played drums in Material, an experimental NY band David Gamson was fond of, and the two met through Maher's then-girlfriend, who was David Gamson's classmate.

7.

Zilkha passed on "Sugar Sugar", but did fund studio time for David Gamson, and introduced him to Geoff Travis, head of the UK independent label Rough Trade.

8.

David Gamson recorded another song, "No Turn On Red", for ZE records, which was included in the NME JiveWire compilation cassette, along with Scritti Politti's "Asylums in Jerusalem".

9.

David Gamson was still a college student at that point, and received credit for his work with Scritti Politti.

10.

David Gamson described Troutman's trademark use of the talk box as "magic".

11.

David Gamson returned to work with Chaka Khan, producing the hit "Love You All My Lifetime" for Khan's 1992 album The Woman I Am.

12.

David Gamson produced Ndegeocello's first two albums - Plantation Lullabies and Peace Beyond Passion - both Grammy nominated.

13.

David Gamson only produced the vocals for her third album, Bitter, and did not go on to produce the full album.

14.

Bitter did not meet the record company's commercial expectations, and the David Gamson-produced Peace Beyond Passion remains Ndegeocello's best selling album to date.

15.

Ndegeocello has said that "David Gamson made me a better artist and a better musician".

16.

In 1996 David Gamson left Warner and became an independent producer.

17.

David Gamson brought in musicians he had previously collaborated with, including Meshell Ndegeocello, Wendy Melvoin and Paul Riser, and recording took place in LA and New York.

18.

In 2000 David Gamson participated in scoring the film Mission: Impossible 2 as part of Hans Zimmer's team.

19.

David Gamson continued to produce for most of the artists he wrote for.

20.

In 2007, David Gamson was approached by Kesha Sebert and her mother Pebe.

21.

Kesha and David Gamson developed her song drafts which were initially guitar-based, and created a synth-heavy sound which "wasn't a million miles away from Scritti Politti".

22.

David Gamson found further success as a songwriter in 2012, with the release of Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger ".

23.

David Gamson was nominated for a Grammy in the Song of the Year category.

24.

David Gamson's work is characterised by timbral synth voicing and arrangements, and use of counterpoint.

25.

David Gamson has contributed to other notable neo soul albums of that era, playing on Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite and composing and playing on Angie Stone's Black Diamond.