The First Day is an album by the British musicians David Sylvian and Robert Fripp released in July 1993. The album, first of three collaborations between the two musicians, contains music merging elements of rock and funk.
After scattered collaborations from the late 1980s, Fripp asked Sylvian to join a new version of his band King Crimson, but Sylvian proposed a collaborative album.
All vocals and guitar parts were recorded at Kingsway in New Orleans, and the mixing was carried out at Electric Ladyland in New York with the help of Peter Gabriel's engineer David Bottrill. They also recorded in Woodstock. Chapman stick player Trey Gunn provided a foundation for Fripp to experiment on electric guitar. Percussion duties were filled by Marc Anderson (longtime collaborator with Steve Tibbetts) and Jerry Marotta (drummer for Peter Gabriel and Tony Levin), while co-producer David Bottrill provided percussion treatments and samples.
The First Day was released in three versions: a double LP (V2712), a regular CD (CDV 2712) and a box set with eight photo prints (CDVX 2712).
The second track of the album "Jean the Birdman" was released as a single, featuring exclusive B-sides.
In a 1994 interview Sylvian said about the album: