In the early 80’s, the Fairlight CMI, a new instrument created by an unknown Australian company, was about to start a revolution in the field of sonic and musical creation, with the introduction of sampling and a brand new conception of sequencing.
Most of the records of these times featured the very distinctive sound of this machine, which has now acquired a mythical status.
The Fairlight gave birth to all of today’s samplers, and its famous sequencer, including a graphic representation of notes, paved the way for all modern-day sequencing softwares.
Until that time everything that captured sound had been tape-based. The Fairlight CMI was like a much more reliable and versatile digital Mellotron.
Stephen Paine, Syco Systems