Michel Waisvisz

Michel Waisvisz (1949–2008) joined STEIM in 1969 and directed the studio from 1981 to 2008, shaping its focus on live, gestural electronic performance. In 1984 he introduced The Hands, a pair of sensor-equipped gloves letting arm, finger, and tilt movement control electronic sound — one of the earliest MIDI-based gestural instruments, built the year after the standard’s introduction and developed across three versions over nearly a quarter-century.