Fairlight CMI
1982
Fairlight CMI
1982
- NFSA IDGDQ0BFSB
- TypeFilm
- MediumMoving Image
- FormDocumentary
- Year1982
Kate Bush's hit song 'Babooshka' from 1980 featured the unforgettable sound of smashing glass – but that wasn't just dramatic effect. It was one of the first uses of the revolutionary Fairlight CMI, the world's first polyphonic digital sampling synthesiser, invented in 1979 by two Australians, Kim Ryrie and Peter Vogel.
Ryrie and Vogel, frustrated by the limitations of traditional synthesisers, set out to create an instrument that could sample and manipulate real-world sounds digitally. While Bush was one of the earliest to use the Fairlight, it soon became a favourite among musical legends like Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Duran Duran and our very own Icehouse.
The Fairlight CMI wasn't just a game-changer for music – it was a bold piece of Australian innovation, with its delightfully retro-futuristic design still turning heads today.
This short excerpt is from Get With IT: The Information Technology Challenge, produced by Film Australia in 1982.
Kate Bush's hit song 'Babooshka' from 1980 featured the unforgettable sound of smashing glass – but that wasn't just dramatic effect. It was one of the first uses of the revolutionary Fairlight CMI, the world's first polyphonic digital sampling synthesiser, invented in 1979 by two Australians, Kim Ryrie and Peter Vogel.
Ryrie and Vogel, frustrated by the limitations of traditional synthesisers, set out to create an instrument that could sample and manipulate real-world sounds digitally. While Bush was one of the earliest to use the Fairlight, it soon became a favourite among musical legends like Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Duran Duran and our very own Icehouse.
The Fairlight CMI wasn't just a game-changer for music – it was a bold piece of Australian innovation, with its delightfully retro-futuristic design still turning heads today.
This short excerpt is from Get With IT: The Information Technology Challenge, produced by Film Australia in 1982.
- NFSA IDGDQ0BFSB
- TypeFilm
- MediumMoving Image
- FormDocumentary
- Year1982
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