Fairlight App For iPhone & iPad (Video Preview)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMy0p__Rx50

Fairlight Instruments has released this official intro video for the Fairlight App for the iPhone and iPad, expected to be available from the Apple App Store in March 2011.

The video is well worth watching, both for its nostalgic look back at 80’s users of the original Fairlight Computer Music Instrument and for the preview of the Fairlight CMI app.

Here’s what Fairlight has to say about the upcoming Fairlight App:

Over 30 years since the original Fairlight CMI first changed the way we make music, we are proud to present the iPhone & iPad Apps, giving you the experience of a CMI Series IIx in the palm of your hand, complete with the full Series IIx factory library and expandable to include the best of the Series III library and even your own samples.

Marvel at the then revolutionary Page R step sequencer, gasp at the three dimensional waveforms in Page D and bask in the wonder of some of the most famous sounds of the Eighties!

The most important news from the teaser video is the mention of full MIDI compatibility. When we spoke with Fairlight CEO Peter Vogel at NAMM, we asked him about MIDI support and he said that it would not be in the initial release, but would be added in an update. We’re glad to see that they’re going to squeeze this into the initial release. 

The sound track of the video is the first song composed completely on the Fairlight iPad app.

Justin Shave‘s Octagonalle was created using original Series II library sounds on the Fairlight iPad app. Shave confronted his first CMI in 2006 when he co-produced Darren Hayes’ album This Delicate Thing We’ve Made. Darren had decided that the Fairlight was the only instrument which could deliver the ’80s sensibility he was seeking, bought one on eBay, and handed it to Shave to tame.

The full dance track is available as a free download from the Fairlight web site (.mp3).

10 thoughts on “Fairlight App For iPhone & iPad (Video Preview)

  1. With all due respect to the original Fairlight, I don't want an iPad version of that interface. I would much rather take advantage of the decades of user interface design advances, than pay a premium price for nostalgia.

  2. 1:30– I love how they feature Scritti Politti (David Gamson!!!) and not a mention of the Art of Noise. I love both, but don't equate Scritti with the Fairlight. I love Green Gartside's plaid suit, though, if we're talking 80's nostalgia…

  3. Full MIDI meaning…ahem…everything but clock sync. lol.

    And let's now take a stab at price. I'm betting this thing will be $50 or higher..because Vogel has have never really had a firm grip on reality.

  4. Maybe it's $17 because the video says 0.1% of the price, and if memory serves it was like 17,000 or so. I might be a bit off on that though 😉

  5. I am sure another version of "Popcorn" would be OK. It just requires musical genius to operate it beyond it's design capabilities. I paid $5,000 to get the old eighties sounds in a Roland keyboard so $50 would be bargain price.

  6. I am curious about those of you who complain about this. I have the refills and as many samples from this 8 bit piece of history. I am 40, and I remember just touching a key of the III in Allans Melbourne when I was a teen. It was an amazing experience. Most of my professional work includes a Virus TI, Prophet 5, mini moog, DX and the awesome Fairlight II. To have that on my ipod alone is worth the money just to appreciate 30 years of music evolution and that something that was way over 20,000 can fit in my bag/pocket as an app. $50 is worth it just for the nostalgia.

  7. dont waste your money on this one. fifty bucks for this is just so wrong. sure it looks amazing but honestly with the lack of waveform drawing the excitement from this device is several levels below the excitement generated from a casio sk1. really this is not for musicians on a budget looking for tools to help them create interesting new sounds or music. you can edit the cycle rate and loop length of the sounds. there is some crude editing of release but thats really it. the waveform display looks great but with no ability to perform waveform drawing whats the point. there is also issues i have with some of the tongue in cheek stuff like the length it takes for a sample to load or the thing bursting into flames when you select the wrong voltage.
    i mean would it not have made more sense to spend some time perfecting this app so you could do some basic waveform drawing. jeeeezzz fifty bucks for this is just lunacy and a true rip off. in fact its the worst purchase i have made in fifteen years of making electronic music.

  8. Come on Bill!

    It´s got the whole original library onboard, ready to play!! For real Fairlight fans (who like those sounds) this alone are worth every penny!

    And im pretty sure there are going to be waveform drawing in the future if this app sells well. I also hope for variable envelope attack, vibrato and portamento to bring even more life to those already exelent retro samples. Cant wait!!

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