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Description
One of the world's first music workstations, the Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument (CMI) paved the way for modern music production with its unprecedented multitimbral capabilities and convincing ability to emulate various instruments. After its introduction in 1979, the CMI quickly became a studio staple (despite its nearly $100,000 price tag), appearing in everything from "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" by Tears for Fears to the "Miami Vice" soundtrack.
Videos
Fred Koke
Herbie Hancock jams with his Fairlight CMI
Reviews
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Artist usage
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It is mentioned in this article that Wang Chung used a Fairlight, a PPG Wave 2.2, a Prophet 5, a Jupiter 8, and a LinnDrum, on the "Points On The Curve" Album.
"On my own album and on Melba Moore I used Fairlight CMI a lot. I use Page R mainly because it's so easy to use. It works the way the human mind works; you can bung a one bar idea into it, then modify it into a two bar idea, then into a whole song, then have different fills every eight bars. It's a great way of working because you don't have to conceive the whole thing in a blob. Previously you used to have to hold the thing in your head, but now it's getting to the point where you can actually sketch onto these machines, and from that sketch you can build the full colour picture."
It is mentioned in this article that Wang Chung used a Fairlight, a PPG Wave 2.2, a Prophet 5, a Jupiter 8, and a LinnDrum, on the "Points On The Curve" Album.
"I basically used everything you can think of except the Synclavier. I wrote and programmed most of the stuff here on the 9000 and the Studio 440 then transferred all the drum parts to a Fairlight III via a Simmons converter. For one song the basic program was on a Linn, then I had a clap from the Emulator, a bass drum from the Fairlight and a conga from the DX. Which meant I was using the Fairlight as a bass drum."
Used on Visage's 1984 album "Beat Boy", according to a 1984 interview with Electronic Soundmaker & Computer Music.
Surprisingly hardly any electronic instruments were used on the LP, just a Fairlight CMI, Egan's MC202/SH101 sequencer combination, a Jupiter 8 and a Linn Drum.
Doug Johnson, the keyboardist, has confirmed his use of the Fairlight CMI in an interview with Cherry Audio. He stated, "Believe it or not, I paid 35K for a Fairlight computer/synth/sampler, with the light pen and the whole nine yards. That would have been around 1983 or so. I used it a little; it could sample 8-bit for 1.5 seconds and store it on a humongous floppy disk. I leased it to a studio here in Vancouver, and then I sold it to a Belgian composer in 1989."
Nicky Skopelitis has been occasionally credited for performing the Fairlight CMI, as evidenced by the credits for Deadline's first album.
What also meets the eye is a three-pack of Alesis ADATs, a Mackie 8-Buss desk, and a range of classic keyboard instruments including a Fairlight CMI Series II, an NED Synclavier, and a Sequential Prophet 5. But while Hughes has always tried to use the latest technology, he's become wary of jumping aboard bandwagons that aren't yet fully fit to roll...
Christian Bruhn is associated with the Fairlight CMI, as noted in the booklet shown in a user-uploaded photo on Discogs.
Q: Rachel Stevens’ “Some Girls” was one of your biggest hits in the UK. What do you remember about recording this track, and is it true that you used the synthesizer once owned by the Thompson Twins?
A: Ha! Yes, there was the Thompson Twins’ Fairlight IIx sampler, the big old white ’80s machine with the computer monitor on top. It had apparently been on stage at Live Aid in the USA.
Album Usage
The Fairlight CMI has been featured on the following albums:
End Of World
Public Image Ltd (2023)
Existential Reckoning
Puscifer (2020)
Discovery (Remastered 2015)
Mike Oldfield (2016)
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Ryuichi Sakamoto (2015)
Zoolook
Jean Michel Jarre (2015)
Sign O' The Times
Prince & Prince (1987)
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants (1986)
Dream Come True
A Flock of Seagulls (1986)
Scoundrel Days
A-ha (1986)
Songs From The Big Chair
Tears for Fears (1985)
Heartbeat City
The Cars (1984)
Junk Culture
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1984)
Points On The Curve
Wang Chung (1984)
Beat Boy
Visage (1984)
90125 (Deluxe Version)
Yes (1983)
Future Shock
Herbie Hancock (1983)
Tug Of War
Paul McCartney (1982)
Genre Usage
Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.
Used With
Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Fairlight CMI, it is most commonly used with the following gear.
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