Musicians at the time were concerned about being replaced, but in the end they needn’t have worried: the sound quality was good, but not enough to replace the real thing. -Giles Dawson, New Scientist magazine, 1983 “Insert a systems disc in the left-hand drive, a library disc in the right, and you can explore a world of sound limited only by your imagination” The Fairlight did indeed out a wide range of pre-recorded sounds of acoustic instruments at your fingertips: an ‘orchestra for sale’, according to the first sales slogan. Initially, he was assisted by Peter Vogel, one of the Fairlight’s designers, who was primarily interested in the use of digital synthesis to reproduce the sounds of acoustic instruments. Peter Gabriel owned the first Fairlight CMI in the UK, and was the first musician here to release an album featuring its sounds. It’s a sound produced by a Fairlight CMI. An entire orchestra at your fingertipsĬan you hear this sweet sound at the beginning of ‘San Jacinto’? It’s not a real marimba. “It’s one of the stars of my collection, and always creates a lot of interest.” 2. “I have been fascinated by the Fairlight from the first time I saw it on television,” says Annie Jamieson, Curator of Sound Technologies. Interestingly, Robin’s Fairlight CMI Series III is one of the first objects specifically acquired for the museum’s new Sound Technologies collection, started in 2016. And so I realised that the best place for the Fairlight was the National Science and Media Museum.” I thought it was a good example of this transition and it could be brought back to life. The best home would be somewhere where people could share its history… The Fairlight is a marker, it marks a seminal moment in the history of electronic music, and technological advances in music in general. “I just thought: there must be a home for this machine. Robin was the founder of music project M, best known for the 1979 hit ‘Pop Muzik’, but he also experimented with the Fairlight on his solo albums.ĭuring an event at the museum last year, he explained his decision to donate his Fairlight: The National Science and Media Museum’s Fairlight was acquired in 2017, and was kindly donated by musician and producer Robin Scott. Back to life again: the story of a museum object New genres like techno and sample-based hip hop were born this way.īut how did the Fairlight work? Was it designed to replace orchestras? To create sound they couldn’t? Was it intended as disruptive tech or as a leisure machine? This exclusive playlist will help you discover one of the most influential musical innovations of the 20th century by listening to the music it helped create. This game-changer opened completely new scenarios of exploration for new and experienced musicians alike. The Fairlight CMI was the first commercially available digital synthesizer with a sampling function, a technology able to digitally reproduce acoustic instruments and sample any sound in the world. In 1979 a new machine hit the music scene-an instrument that claimed to contain all others. Discover its history and influence on pop music through this video playlist. UMC will make it available on 180gm vinyl for Record Store Day 2021, as a new limited edition release featuring a second LP of rare Art of Noise recordings, presented as ‘Who’s Afraid of… Goodbye?’ These are making their first appearance on vinyl and were previously only available as part of the now deleted 2006 box set, ‘What Have You Done With My Body, God?’įor aficionados of the brilliant ZTT catalogue “this has been number 34 in Zang Tuum Tumb’s Incomplete Incidental Series, number 17 in the Complete Element Series, and now number 24 in the Definitive Definition Series.An example of the Fairlight CMI, a groundbreaking synthesizer, is part of our Sound Technologies collection. ‘Who’s Afraid of.?’ was one of the first releases on the fledgling ZTT label in 1984 and has been unavailable on vinyl since it was repressed and repackaged in 1985. Click notify me above to be kept up to date.Ī reissue of ‘Who’s Afraid of…?’, the debut album from pioneering British synth-pop act The Art of Noise, featuring Oscar and Grammy Award winning composer Anne Dudley and hugely successful producer Trevor Horn. Available from us on Saturday 17th July from 6:00pm. This is an exclusive release for Record Store Day 2021 - Drop 2.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |