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The Hands
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Michel Waisvisz is known for his highly physical, sensitive and ecstatic electronic music performance using The Hands (a gestural sensor instrument) he developed at the STEIM foundation in Amsterdam. Waisvisz has since the late sixties developed new ways to achieve physical touch with electronic music instruments; sometimes literally touching the electricity inside the instruments and thereby becoming a thinking component of the machine. He was amongst the first play with synthesizers on stage and very early developed and performed using, what are now called, gestural controllers. He also is the inventor of the CrackleBox and The Web and many other instruments based on touch interaction.
Beside the solo performances, and the composing for music theatre he has collaborated with a great variety of musicians/composers: Laurie Anderson, Steve Lacy, DJ Spooky, Najib Cheradi, Moniek Toebosch, The Nieuw Ensemble, Willem Breuker, The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Maarten Altena, etc. Waisvisz has been the co-founder of electrical sound festivals in Holland.