Fairlight (company)

Fairlight is an Australian company specialising in professional digital audio systems and post-production tools. Founded in 1975 by Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, the company originated in Sydney, New South Wales. In 1979, it introduced the Series I Fairlight CMI, one of the earliest digital audio workstations (DAWs) to integrate a digital audio sampler. Subsequent models, including the Series II and III, featured a graphic music sequencer called Page R, released at a time when most computer-based sequencers required programming skills.

Fairlight's instruments were used by prominent artists such as Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush and Jean-Michel Jarre. The brand became emblematic of 1980s pop and electronic music culture, to the point where Phil Collins famously included the note “there is no Fairlight on this record” in the liner notes of No Jacket Required.

The last hardware developed under the Fairlight brand included the Xynergi Media Production Centre and its modular Dream II and Constellation systems, powered by the company's Crystal Core (CC-1 and later CC-2) audio engines. These consoles marked the culmination of Fairlight’s integrated digital audio and mixing technology before the company was acquired by Blackmagic Design in 2016. Following the acquisition, Blackmagic introduced a new range of Fairlight-branded consoles and desktop audio editors. Continuing the brand’s legacy within modern post-production workflows, Blackmagic integrated Fairlight software into its DaVinci Resolve non-linear editing system.