3 Songs That Used the Fairlight CMI: The DAW That Helped Compose the 80s’ Most Dynamic Tracks

The Fairlight CMI, one of the earliest digital audio workstations (DAW), was developed and introduced by Fairlight in the late 70s. Used in several iconic 80s hits, the Fairlight uniquely included a sample. It also basically invented “sampling,” which is taking a piece of another song and adding it to your own. Here are some songs from the 80s that were created using this workstation in some way.

“Shout” by Tears For Fears

For their song “Shout”, Tears for Fears used the ARR 1 vocal patch on the Fairlight CMI. This track also made use of several other popular 80s instruments, including the Yamaha DX7 and the LinnDrum machine.

Roland Orzabal told Jake Grogan of this song: “[‘Shout’] was written in my front room on just a small synthesizer and a drum machine. Initially I only had the chorus, which was very repetitive, like a mantra. I played it to Ian Stanley, our keyboardist, and Chris Hughes, the producer. I saw it as a good album track, but they were convinced it would be a hit around the world…”

“The Dreaming” by Kate Bush

“The Dreaming” by Kate Bush used the Fairlight CMI. Bush also used the Fairlight on other songs of hers, like 1980’s “Babooshka”.

If you listen to this one, you’ll notice that Bush uses a bit of an Australian accent. This was an intentional choice. “The Dreaming” was written about the fight for Aboriginal Australians to keep their land safe when white Australians started digging up their land in search of uranium.

“I’m able to oversee the whole thing in a way that I can treat myself almost like an actor on a stage,” she told Mojo magazine, per Songfacts. “It’s not just being a singer. The voice is just part of trying to create an atmosphere or a little story or a picture, and it’s very much (about) the emotional content.”

“Moments In Love” by Art Of Noise

On “Moments In Love”, Art of Noise also used the ARR 1 vocal patch.

“Moments Of Love” has been sampled by Charli XCX, Drake, Lil Wayne, and several other artists since its 1985 release. Fun fact: this song was also played during Madonna’s wedding to Sean Penn as she walked down the aisle.

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