Following Women Users: Towards a Feminist Historiography of the Fairlight CMI and other Music Technologies

The chapter presents three case studies focused on the Fairlight Computer Music Instrument (CMI) – one of the first commercially available polyphonic digital synthesizers. Techniques of knowledge and strategies of power in the sound studio are examined through the lens of Science and Technology Studies (STS), where the attention of academics in recent decades has turned away from creators towards the users of technologies. Although users of the Fairlight CMI such as Peter Gabriel, Herbie Hancock, and Stevie Wonder are widely documented, Kate Bush is often cited as the token female user. This chapter seeks to examine other female composers, programmers, and contributors to the history of the Fairlight CMI that remain outside of existing narratives including Roxanne Turcotte, Brenda Hutchinson, and Sarah Cohen.