Silverdoor

DOYLE, ROGER - Fairlight Memories

The music on these CDs was composed on a Fairlight Computer Music Instrument between 1983 and 1988. Together with the Synclavier (made famous by Frank Zappas use of it) the Fairlight was among the first synthesizers controlled by a computer. It had a sampler, a sequencer (called Page R), on-screen waveform display -- very popular with bands on Top of the Pops showing off their new Fairlights -- and a central processor unit (CPU) that took two people to lift. In 1982 I was involved in a studio that bought one, and after two months teaching myself how to use it I warmed to its possibilities and limitations. There were things it did that no other piece of equipment has done since, yet at the same time I was forced to input material into the sequencer monophonically. The sequencer held up to eight monophonic lines, forcing me to think contrapuntally. This 8-voice polyphony was like having a constantly changing chamber octet at my disposal. By 1988 it was gathering dust in the corner of the studio, having been superseded by newer technology and fashion, so I made an offer and bought it cheaply for my own embryonic home studio. In 1990 I sold it and it drifted out of my life. I made great use out of it -- sometimes composing pieces in a few hours -- and have very fond memories of the Fairlight. - Silverdoor.

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After nearly a decade of false starts, multiple game plans veering off the rails, and a handful of shattered hopes and/or dreams, the odyssey is finally complete—the new Fusetron site is here.

This is the first phase of a multipart rollout that will span the next few months: the currently browsable stock includes miscellaneous new releases from the past 8+ months (we have a lot of catching up to do), plus approximately a third of our backstock. Note that we’ve reduced/slashed prices on many titles and will continue to do so in order to make room for new stock. We’ll also be expanding / tweaking / improving / debugging the site itself (for example, we still have work to do on the automated international postage system, not to mention the inevitable inventory discrepancies that come with transferring an ancient and massive database to a new system).

Over the next few months, as we take inventory, clean house, and delve into our storage, we will be uploading thousands of additional items, gradually, on a near-daily basis. This will include the majority of the LPs, as well as many titles, in all formats, once thought long-gone. Many currently “sold out” items are likely to resurface.

Finally, once our general backstock is up (probably in the next two or three months) we’ll begin making our extensive stockpile of rarities available online for the first time: tons of random out-of-print titles, "deadstock," warehouse finds, secondhand collectibles, etc., accumulated over the past few decades.

Frequent/returning customers will be getting early access to these items. Details to follow on how this will work (a priority mailing list? a 'frequent flyer'-like program?), but it will not be based on dollars spent. We want to reward those who consistently support us, especially in the discogs marketplace era (to those who show up trying to poach five copies of a one-off rarity, and nothing else, ever… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).

So—we suggest you take some time to dig through the site—even we’ve been surprised by what’s been turning up, and there’s much more to come.
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