In early 1981, Horn left Yes and became a full-time producer. His wife advised him to branch off from being an instrumental musician as he could reach greater success in production, and subsequently she became Horn's manager. He assembled a studio rig which included a Roland TR-808 drum machine and sequencer and a set of Simmons electronic drum modules. He spent £18,000 on a Fairlight CMI synthesiser, one of four in the country at the time. "I knew what it was capable of, because I understood what it did. Most other people didn't understand at the time – sampling was like a mystical world". Horn realised he needed full-time assistance in operating the machine and hired J. J. Jeczalik to programme it. For his use of the Fairlight, Horn is credited as the "key architect" in incorporating sampling into "the language of pop".