Drake Music’s DMLab project has been working with the vibrant and exciting making, coding and hacking communities for more than 3 years now, encouraging and supporting people to make new musical instruments that are accessible to disabled musicians.
Music Tech Fest is an event where this broader community comes together to meet and share, and we were invited to showcase the Kellycaster, an accessible guitar designed by John Kelly which is being developed by a team at DMLab, with support from Inclusive Creativity.
DM Associate Musician Kris Halpin was also there showing the MiMu gloves, as well as several key members the DMLab making community: Luis Zayas, Robert Blaauboer, Tom Fox, Kieran Plissonneau and Kelly Snook (with the hackcamp being led by Adam John Williams as well).
Showcasing accessible music technology at Music Tech Fest allows us to work with some of the best minds in the sector, as well as spread the message of inclusive design in musical instruments, and how this can change people’s lives, allowing access to music making, something that many of us take for granted. It also demonstrates that good accessible music technology is in fact just good music technology.
It was really exciting to be among so many great thinkers and makers at the weekend long event, catching up with old friends and making new friends and contacts.
There have never been so many sensors and technologies for making your own music technology, and seeing so many in one place really inspires, and allows DMLab to progress, both technically and conceptually.
If you’re involved in making new music technology and want to help make it accessible, whether as a designer, coder, Max programmer, sound artist, hacker, creative musician or in any other way, then please get in touch. We have regular meetings in London and Manchester, as well as a broader virtual international network.
First image (c) 2016 Marie LeBlanc Flanagan. Subsequent images (c) 2016 Drake Music
