ABSTRACT
With the sample time on the Fairlight CMI Series I limited to one second, users employed it for inserting short sounds into recordings. This changed with the release of the CMI Series II in 1982, the Series IIx in 1983, and the Series III in 1986. These contained a built-in sequencer called Page R (or Real Time Composer), which enabled users to build rhythmic patterns of sampled sounds. J.J. Jeczalik and other members of Trevor Horn’s production team started to use the Fairlight CMI with other digital technologies to add loops with samples to recordings by Malcolm McLaren and the Art of Noise. Using archival research and material from an interview with Jeczalik, this chapter looks at the use of the CMI Series II, IIx, and III between 1983 and 1988. It focuses on three things: (1) its use to construct collage-like recordings, which were inspired by the cut and scratch turntable techniques of hip-hop DJs; (2) the use of Page R and other sequencing technologies to create musical performances that were ‘strictly in time’; and (3) its use to sample pre-existing sound recordings and manipulate them in new ways. This chapter continues to trace the history of Fairlight Instruments until the company closed in 1988 and follows the instruments, users, and non-users that shaped the sounds and practices of a loop-based aesthetic in pop/ular music.
