David Firth

David John Firth (born 23 January 1983[3]) is an English animator, director, writer, musician, actor, voice actor, video artist and broadcaster, born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. As a cartoonist, Firth's work is largely distributed via the Internet, most notably through the popular Adobe Flash animation website Newgrounds and his own personal websites. Several of his works in Flash animation, along with multiple music videos and works of video art, have garnered large followings.[4]

For the British actor, see David Firth (actor). For the British statistician, see David Firth (statistician).

David Firth
Born
David John Firth

(1983-01-23) 23 January 1983
Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England
Other namesLocust Toybox
Doki66
Shady Piez
Jerry Jackson
OccupationAnimator, writer, director, musician, actor, voice actor, video artist, broadcaster
Years active1998–present
StyleBlack comedy, psychological horror, animation, surrealist, satire, absurdist humour
YouTube information
Channels
Years active2006–present
Genre
Subscribers1.4 million (combined)
(March 8, 2020)
Total views206 million (combined)
100,000 subscribers 2011[1]
1,000,000 subscribers 2018[2]
Musical career
GenresElectronic
Years active2002-present
LabelsBrainfeeder
Associated acts
WebsiteFat-Pie.com

Animation

Notable animation sequences from Firth include Salad Fingers,[5] as well as the comedic Burnt Face Man series.[6] A number of Firth's works have been featured by the BBC in the UK, and the BBC has hired Firth on several occasions. He also created a Flash animation series called Jerry Jackson in which a cartoon character claims to be a professional animator, even though the animation is intentionally poorly crafted. The character was based on Firth's perception of Internet users who would leave hateful comments on his videos.[7]

Firth's work often contains a large amount of dark imagery and tends to explore topics of a disturbing or surreal nature, such as depression and mental illness.[8] Firth has stated that it is not his intention to upset or offend.[9] Some of his work may be described as dark humour, while much of it is simply experimental, using many different styles.[10]

Firth has produced several animations for the BBC Comedy[11] website, including his Musical Predictions 2009[12] and the Jerry Jackson series in 2009. In 2010, he created a new series for the BBC based on a character called Drillbithead.[13]

Filmography

One of Firth's most notable and productive projects has been MC Devvo aka Darren Devonshire.[14] The Devvo series has been described as "a pill-munching, northern scallie that seemed kind of like a documentary.. " but "...far too harrowing and depressing for the main character to ever be real."[15] It is a common misconception that Firth is the actor who plays Devvo. Christian Webb, who provides many of the voices in Firth's cartoons and co-writes the Salad Fingers series, plays the role of Devvo. Firth instead features as the cameraman and occasionally appears alongside Webb as DJ Shady Piez. Firth has also produced short films for "Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe", televised on BBC Four.[16] As of 2012, Firth has been working on his first animated feature film under working title The Meadow Man.[17]

Firth directed the music video for the Flying Lotus song "Ready Err Not",[18] which premiered on Adult Swim on Halloween night 2014.[19]

Firth continues to post on a regular basis on Fat-Pie.com and YouTube. On March 30, 2017, he created a Patreon page where fans can support his work.[20]

On May 30, 2017, Firth released his new short film Cream on his YouTube channel. It was produced by Flying Lotus for his production company and record label Brainfeeder. It is sometimes shown as an opening short to Kuso, a surreal horror-comedy-drama movie directed by Flying Lotus. Firth contributed animation, writing, and a voice role to the movie.

Music

Firth composes electronic music under the pseudonym of Locust Toybox, and has released thirteen studio albums to date, most recently Toyboxica (2019), which was released through Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder label.[21] Firth is a fan of Aphex Twin,[22] and has used his music in his work. Amongst other notable influences are Boards of Canada and Brian Eno. Firth has also created a videoclip for the Aphex Twin song "Milkman" from the Girl/Boy EP.[23] Firth also releases music as Stegosaurus Trap,[24] I'm The Manager, and is a part of English psychedelic pressure-pop band the Grape Digging Sharon Fruits.[25] Most of his music are available as free downloads and have frequently soundtracked his animations.

Discography

All records are self-released except where noted:

Locust Toybox:

  • Old Pagger Ballads (2002)
  • Dead Wasps (2003, initially released under DJ Foyf)
  • A Kettle of Wealth (2004, initially released under Foyf)
  • Scribble Beats (2005)
  • Powdered Brethrens EP (2005, Wyrd Skies)
  • Mangled Tape Memories (2006)
  • Felt Crayons (2007)
  • Remixes & Other Crap (2008)
  • Inkbrush (2009)
  • Noon (2011)
  • Stringland (2014)
  • Lost Pop EP (2015)
  • Drownscapes (2017, Brainfeeder) Length: 1H 27M 4S
  • The Eyelid Recording (2019)
  • Toyboxica (2019)

Grape Digging Sharon Fruits:

  • Flower Festival (2003)
  • The Insurance Band EP (2004)
  • It's Way Past Your Bedtime (2008)
  • Grappling Head Songs (2010)

I'm the Manager:

  • The Manager's Files EP (2005)

Stegosaurus Trap:

  • Miniature Maze (2009)
  • Melt (2010)
  • Trainwreck (2011)
  • Invaders (2012)
  • Songs For Seven Lizards (2020)

Games

Firth has voice acted as two of the antagonists in the indie psychological horror game, The Cat Lady,[26] and its sequel, Lorelai.[27] He was also a caller, Radio Doctor, on FlyLo FM, in the action-adventure game, Grand Theft Auto V.[28]

Firth's most famous character, Salad Fingers, has been featured in numerous video-games such as Newgrounds Rumble and Chaos Faction 2.

References
  1. Doki66's Channel, archived from the original on 23 February 2011, retrieved 23 February 2011
  2. "David Firth's YouTube stats". Social Blade.
  3. Henry, Ryan (4 August 2015). "I spoke to the creator of our worst nightmares, David Firth". Cut x Sewn. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  4. Chonin, Neva (25 December 2005). "2005 IN REVIEW / POP CULTURE". SFGate. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  5. Mendelson, Jon (2 May 2020). "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared Endures Because of Its Brilliant Execution". CBR.com. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  6. https://themanc.com/news/david-firth-is-bringing-salad-fingers-to-manchester-for-a-live-show/
  7. "BBC Comedy – Jerry Jackson @ Festivals". BBC. 17 July 2009. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013.
  8. "Why the Hell Do People Like David Firth?". 5 August 2019.
  9. "Fat-pie.com :: Frequently Asked Poo". Fatpie. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  10. "David Firth Celebrates 1 Million Subscribers With a New Video". 8 November 2018.
  11. "BBC - Comedy - Clips from 'David Firth'". BBC. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  12. Firth, David (27 April 2009). "BBC Comedy – Musical Predictions 2009". BBC. Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  13. Firth, David (8 October 2010). "BBC Comedy – Drillbithead and the New Best Friend". BBC. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  14. "School Teacher Fired After Being Outed As YouTube Star MC Devvo". LadBible. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  15. Shea, Matt (15 November 2012). "The Guy Behind Devvo and Salad Fingers Is Making a New Film | VICE | United Kingdom". VICE. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  16. Doctor Firth (21 December 2009). "Doctor Firth saves Christmas". BBC. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  17. Firth, David. "The Meadow Man - A Fat-Pie Feature". The Meadow Man. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  18. "Flying Lotus Shares Graphic Animated Video For 'Ready Err Not'". Pitchfork. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  19. "Flying Lotus You're Dead!". Flying Lotus. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  20. David Firth [@DAVID_FIRTH] (29 March 2017). "I set up a Patreon. It feels like investing in a bomb shelter for the upcoming blitz my channel is going through" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. "Drownscapes by Locust Toybox". Ninja Tune. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  22. Semantikon. "Interview with Salad Fingers Creator David Firth". Semantikon. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  23. Firth, David (1 September 2012). Milkman (Motion picture).
  24. Rabrun, Dominick (4 November 2013). David Firth | DSC Interview (Podcast).
  25. Dave (28 January 2010). "THE NEW ALBUM IS HERE!!!". Grape Diggers Jam Blog. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  26. The Cat Lady at IMDb
  27. Lorelai at IMDb
  28. David Firth [@DAVID_FIRTH] (18 November 2014). "Anyone with the new version of Grand Theft Auto 5 (PS4/XBONE) should listen to FlyloFM. You should listen carefully" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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