The Fairlight CMI is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. It was based on a commercial licence of the Qasar M8 developed by Tony Furse of Creative Strategies in Sydney, Australia. It was one of the earliest music workstations with an embedded sampler and is credited for coining the term sampling in music. It rose to prominence in the early 1980s and competed with the Synclavier from New England Digital.
Fairlight is a digital audio company based in Sydney. In 1979, it released its Series I Fairlight CMI, one of the earliest digital audio workstations (DAWs) with a digital audio sampler. Their subsequent Series II and III CMIs featured a graphic sequencer known as Page R, during a time when most computerised music sequencers required coding skills.
Heartbeat City is the fifth studio album by American new wave band the Cars, released on March 13, 1984, by Elektra Records. This marks the band's first album not produced by long-time producer Roy Thomas Baker, instead opting to produce with Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Considered a "comeback" album for the Cars, Heartbeat City represented a return to the success of the band's self-titled debut album.
Dis Is da Drum is Herbie Hancock's thirty-fourth album and his first solo album since leaving Columbia Records. Guests include saxophonist Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Wallace Roney and flautist Hubert Laws.
Les Chants Magnétiques is the fifth studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released on Disques Dreyfus on 20 May 1981. The album reached number six in the United Kingdom, number 98 in the United States and number 76 in Australia.
Shout is the sixth studio album by American new wave band Devo, released on October 8, 1984 by Warner Bros. Records.
Seal is the eponymous title of the debut studio album by Seal, released in 1991. It contains the singles "Crazy", "Future Love Paradise", "The Beginning", "Killer" and "Violet". The album debuted at number one in the UK and went on to win Best British Album at the 1992 Brit Awards. Seal's following album, released in 1994, was also named Seal. It is usually referred to as Seal II.
"Sign o' the Times" is the lead single from American musician Prince's 1987 studio album of the same name. The song was originally intended for two separate Prince studio albums meant to be released in 1986, both shelved: Dream Factory and Crystal Ball. Prince performed all vocals and instruments on the song. "Sign o' the Times" was reportedly written and composed on a Sunday, when Prince usually wrote his most introspective songs.
ĒBN-ŌZN was an American, 1980s New York based experimental New Wave synth pop duo, composed of Ned "Ebn" Liben and Robert "Ozn" Rosen,. The duo, who pioneered the sound recording technique of "sampling", is best known for the 1983 hit single and award-winning music video "AEIOU Sometimes Y", the first commercially released and charted American single recorded on a computer, a Fairlight CMI.
Sign o' the Times is the ninth studio album by the American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was first released on March 30, 1987, as a double album by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album is the follow-up to Parade and is Prince's first solo album following his disbanding of the Revolution. The album's songs were largely recorded during 1986 to 1987 in sessions for releases Prince ultimately aborted: Dream Factory, the pseudonymous Camille, and finally the triple album Crystal Ball. Prince eventually compromised with label executives and shortened the length of the release to a double album.
"Owner of a Lonely Heart" is a song by British progressive rock band Yes. It is the first track and single from their eleventh studio album, 90125 (1983), and was released on 28 October 1983. Written primarily by guitarist and singer Trevor Rabin, contributions were made to the final version by singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, and producer Trevor Horn.
Future Shock is the twenty-ninth album by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released in August 1983 by Columbia Records. It was his first release from his electro-funk era and an early example of instrumental hip hop. Participating musicians include bass guitarist Bill Laswell, guitarist Pete Cosey and drummer Sly Dunbar.
Perfect Machine is the thirty-second album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. It was the third and final album in Hancock’s series co-produced by Bill Laswell. Guests include bassist Bootsy Collins.
Jonathan Edward Stephen "J. J." Jeczalik is a British electronic musician/record producer, co-founder of the electronic music group the Art of Noise. He taught IT at Oxford High School until his retirement in 2013.
Shane Keister is an American musician. He is known for his work as a studio musician, writer, arranger and producer. He plays synthesizer, piano, Hammond B3, Synclavier, Fairlight CMI, Fender Rhodes, and others.
"Rise" is a song by the English post-punk band Public Image Ltd, released as a single on 21 January 1986 by Virgin Records. It was the first single from Album, their fifth studio album.
"Sunset Now" is a song by the British new wave and synth-pop band Heaven 17, which was released in 1984 as the first single from their third studio album How Men Are. It was written by Glenn Gregory, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware, and produced by Marsh and Ware and Greg Walsh. It reached No. 24 in the UK, remaining on the charts for six weeks on. A music video was filmed to promote the single.
Ren Klyce is a Japanese-American sound designer and sound mixer.
Kim Ryrie is an Australian synthesiser inventor who founded the audio technology company Fairlight with Peter Vogel.
Catharine Wood is an American composer, songwriter, musician, producer, audio engineer and studio owner associated with both popular music and music for picture. Her work is primarily influenced by folk, rock, pop and soul music. In addition to being a vocal activist for songwriters, Wood is recognized for her contributions as a recording arts leader and mentor by AES and NAMM presenting alongside Grammy winning Leslie Ann Jones and Lenise Bent. She has been highlighted in two UK published Routledge academic books as a trailblazer in the professional music engineering and producer community: “Women in Audio” and “Gender in Music Production” in Chapters 4 and 13 respectively. In 2022, Wood was elected to The Recording Academy Los Angeles Chapter Board of Governors.
