Stevie Wonder was one of the first users of the original Fairlight CMI in 1979, and in a nice piece of symmetry, he recently checked out the prototype of the 30th anniversary model that's currently in development.
You can see Wonder pictured with Fairlight creator Peter Vogel and Lorraine Vogel in the photo above. Commenting on the meeting, Peter Vogel said: "In 1979, Stevie was one of the first users of the Fairlight. I was thrilled to find he was still as interested as ever in exploring new technology."
"Of course, he was particularly keen that music technology be accessible to the blind. The original Fairlight was much more accessible than PC-based instruments because it predated things like drop-down menus which rely on good eyesight. We've kept that original look and feel in the new model."
This isn't the end of the story, as Fairlight has confirmed that it will be working closely with Stevie Wonder's personal engineer LaMar Mitchell to discover ways to make its products totally accessible.
