Molly Joyce is a composer and performer whose work explores disability as a creative source. Described by The Washington Post as “one of the most versatile, prolific, and intriguing composers working under the vast new-music dome,” her music has also been praised by The New York Times for its “serene power.”
Hi everyone! My name is Molly Joyce, and I am a composer/performer, etc., currently based in Charlottesville, VA. I was so honored to contribute a playlist to this series.
When I began thinking about what I wanted to compile for a playlist, I first started thinking of perhaps tracks by disabled musicians since my primarily works in disability arts and aesthetics; however, the more I thought about it, I realized I wanted to zero in on a particular aspect of the intersection between disability aesthetics and music, and to highlight the ingenuity that viewing and executing musical performance through a disability lens can bring.
Therefore, this naturally brought up thinking about music technology and specifically adaptive music technology, which is often musical instruments and devices that can be infinitely adapted to a performer’s individual capabilities.
I have been experimenting with these technologies over the past few years, and I’m excited to highlight the technology and musical heroes in this space that have advanced this technical and artistic development. In parallel, I was excited to highlight musicians past and present who have created their own versions of adaptive music technology, namely by adapting a common instrument such as the guitar or violin to their specific physicalities.
Therefore, I hope this playlist provides a compelling entryway into how adaptive music technology and instruments are used across genres, time periods, and aesthetics. Thank you for listening!
“Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap
Imogen Heap is, of course, a singular musician; her voice and artistry blend electropop and music technology, bringing an otherworldly sense to it. Since 2010, she has pioneered the MiMU glove, a wearable instrument that controls music and sound through hand and finger gestures. In this reworking of “Hide and Seek,” the song that made her a household name, the glove responds to various hand positions, such as a fist or finger pitch.
John Kelly performs on the Kelly Caster at the Berklee Able Assembly 2025
I have long admired Kelly’s work, especially with his self-named instrument, the “Kellycaster.” The Kellycaster has an adapted body shape and a short neck, allowing Kelly to strum the strings traditionally while selecting chords with a keyboard in his left hand. This makes the full range of chords accessible while maintaining the guitar’s full expressiveness. This track and instrument is an important example of a disabled musician “cripping” a traditional instrument to their individual physicality.
“Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
It was important for me to highlight musicians across genres, fame, and time periods who adapted an instrument. As many know, Jimi Hendrix played guitar left-handed, flipping his guitar upside down to use his left hand. This setup inverted the physical layout, changing string tension, pickup angles, and access to controls, which shaped his revolutionary sound. In this track, Hendrix performs live in Hawai’i, showcasing his deep, expressive, fuzz-like sound.
“Why Dreams like a Loose Engine” by Laetitia Sonami
Sonami is a French American sound artist, performer, and music technologist. One of her prominent instruments is the “lady’s glove” (1991-present), made of black lycra embedded with sensors that track her hand motions. I have deeply admired how, through this instrument, Sonami underscores hands as digital instruments of care, especially with motherhood and caretaking. In this video from Roulette, Sonami performs “Why Dreams like a Loose Engine,” featuring text by Melody Sumner Carnahan.
“Watch the World Unfold” by Gaelynn Lea
Lea is one of my longtime heroes in the disability world. She came to prominence after winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2016, and she seamlessly advances a unique musical aesthetic born from her disability. She sings and plays with a looping pedal and violin, holding her violin upright and bowing it like an upright bass. I was fortunate to host her in Charlottesville last year and have selected her performance at the local radio station, WTJU.
Greensleeves, Performed by Adrian Anantawan
Adrian Anantawan is another hero of mine in the disability world. He is a violinist with a disability in his right hand and therefore plays with a splint on his right bow. I have been fortunate to write several works for him, and am always comforted by his singular sound. It is a sound uniquely informed by his disability, adapting the classical violin to his physicality and creating a sound that is uniquely his.
The Steve Varden Cloud Looping Experience by Steve Varden
I discovered Varden’s work via Drake Music, a music, disability, and technology organization based in the UK. In this performance, Varden responded to a brief to use technology creatively to connect with an audience and break down the traditional performer/audience divide. He asks the audience questions and uses a throwable microphone to capture their responses, which he live-loops. I love how this performance is simultaneously nuanced, funny, kid-friendly, and fun and interactive.
“Gut Feeling” by Lee Abramson
Abramson was an American musician best known for ModelTalker, a computerized speech production program. He also wrote music using software such as Sibelius, Logic Pro, and AssistiveWare keystrokes. I love this track; it sounds very much like it came from that software, but it exceeds the software’s aesthetic expectations. And one more fun fact –– he ran for President of the United States as an independent candidate in 2012.
“The Hands” by Michel Waisvisz
Waisvisz is one of the early innovators in music technology and is associated with “The Hands” instrument from the mid-1980s, a gestural MIDI controller worn on both hands. He was also the artistic director of STEIM in Amsterdam from 1981, an important incubator for music technology and artistry. In this performance, from the NIME (New Interfaces for Musical Expression) Conference in 2003, Waisvisz performs with the instrument, highlighting the interaction between technology, hands, and vocals in a compelling performance.
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