Fairlight

Fairlight is a digital audio company based in Sydney, Australia. In 1979 they created the Fairlight CMI, the first digital audio sampler, quickly used by artists such as Peter Gabriel , Kate Bush or Jean Michel Jarre. They are now a manufacturer of media solutions tools such as digital audio recording and mixing consoles.

History

In 1975, Fairlight Instruments Pty Ltd was established by Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie. They produced microprocessor-based samplers which were revolutionary for their time.

In April 1989, Fairlight ESP (Electric Sound and Picture) was established by Kim Ryrie, with the financial backing of Australian distributor Amber.

Current products

Crystal Core processing engine. Capable of sampling frequencies up to 384kHz. Does not use DSP-based architecture, but a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

Xynergi. Tactile control unit that makes use of self-labeling LCD keys.

References

• http://www.fairlightau.com/Archive_Site/2006au2.html
• http://www.vintagesynth.com/
• http://anerd.com/fairlight/index.htm

External links

• Fairlight Europe
• Fairlight CMI - Models and how they work.
• Image of Xynergi based studio
• Mars Lasar worked for Fairlight while composing his own works
• Some of Peter Vogel's historical Fairlight images and music collection.