Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Chagall Holds an Electronic Symphony in the Palms of Her Hands

06/08/2022

Chagall Holds an Electronic Symphony in the Palms of Her Hands For music innovator Chagall, new technology opens a door to connect with audiences on a deeper level.

By

Daniel Pesquera

August 3, 2022

Image by Eduardo Fitch

If you've ever watched a live performance of electronic music, you might be familiar with the image of an artist standing behind a turntable or digital controller, one headphone pressed to their ear, rotating knobs and hitting buttons to create a flurry of wild-sounding effects. Amsterdam-born electronic music producer and singer-songwriter Chagall offers a drastically different picture: an artist not behind a table but in the middle of the stage, conducting an electronic symphony with dramatic hand motions, controlling LED drones and massive light installations with her movements, directing a choreographed dance with a 3D avatar that shadows her every move on a giant visual backdrop. With the power of new music technology such as MiMU Gloves, Chagall is stretching the limits of what a live electronic music experience can look like.

An early adopter and brand ambassador for the MiMU Gloves and a lead designer of the accompanying Glover software, Chagall has been touring the world for years, demonstrating how the gloves are able to fade, filter, compress, and modulate sounds to weave a sonic tapestry in real time. Importantly, the physical freedom afforded by the gloves allows her to sing, dance, and maintain a captivating onstage presence all while controlling every aspect of the music making process with gestures. When Chagall visited Berklee in the fall of 2020 for an interactive performance seminar and workshop, students witnessed how artists like her are changing electronic music performance. This led to the Dream Machine project, a collaboration between the colleges Electronic Production and Design and Liberal Arts and Sciences departments and Boston Conservatory at Berklees Dance Division.

Chagall has been a featured speaker for organizations such as TED and Ableton, and is one of only a handful performers tapping into the full potential of MiMU Gloves and other forms of motion-capture technology. Her latest projects include a fleet of LED drones that fly around the stage in sync with a dance routine, and her current tour incorporates a huge art installation of lights that respond directly to movement to enhance an already mesmerizing performance. On the heels of Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day, we were fortunate to talk with Chagall about her vision for the future of live electronic music.

Watch Chagall perform with the MiMU Gloves at the Den Theatre in Chicago:

How did you become interested in MiMU Gloves initially? My first introduction to the MiMU Gloves was a TED Talk by Imogen Heap, the famous artist and company cofounder. She did a demonstration with the gloves, and I remember a moment where she was looping her voice and she kind of grabbed her voice over her head, which put a high-filter EQ on it, and then she let it go and basically threw her voice all over the room, which brought all of the frequencies back into the mix. I was blown away by this because that's the kind of digital effect you usually see a DJ creating by turning a knob. But Imogen Heap showed us that as a singer, you could now do it through this really powerful physical expression. That was really amazing.

I was so excited by the capabilities of the product that I wrote the company a very enthusiastic email, and somehow I got an email back from Kelly Snook, the company cofounder and instrument's inventor, who has also been to Berklee to demonstrate the gloves. Even though I had no direct experience with the technology, she decided to bring me on board to work with the company and help design the next evolution of the gloves. I ended up becoming the UX [universal experience] designer for the software called Glover, which we released last year.

How would you compare playing, recording, and performing with MiMU Gloves versus a more traditional digital instrument? I always felt like I had to choose between two avenues to perform my music. I could either try to make this music feel as live as possible, which meant I would be at a controller looking very busy, pushing buttons and twisting knobs and that kind of thing. Or I could sing and tell the story at a more emotional level and feel that deeper connection with the audience, but that would mean the music would have to be prerecorded. The MiMU Gloves made it possible to do both. I could create digital music and effects in real time while also being a singer and connecting with the people in front of me, where they could see exactly what I was doing through my movements. The gloves are a bridge between these two worlds that have really elevated what I'm able to do with my music.

You are one of only a handful of artists currently implementing the MiMU Gloves into your songwriting and performing. What are the key ideas you try to convey to people who might not be as familiar with this instrument when demonstrating its abilities?

Chagall performing with B.A.B.Y., an interactive light installation featured in her new project Unlocked

Image by Ben Houdijk

There's a few different aspects of the gloves that I always try to get across. The first is that you can learn anything. Musicians can be a bit scared of computers, programming, and things that aren't traditional instruments. What I really try to convey is that they shouldn't be. I wasn't trained in any of this; I studied history! I just knew that I had an idea and a vision of what I wanted my performance to be on stage and I figured out that I needed MiMU Gloves and a 3D scan of myself and an LED installation to make that possible. The tools are getting easier to use by the day as well, so it's really worth investigating what's out there
LINK: https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/an-electronic-symphony-in-the...
See more stories from berklee

North America Stories

15/04/2026

Haivision Launches Falkon X4 5G Transmitters

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

JB&A Spotlights Exhibitors Ahead of Pre-NAB 2026 Technology Event

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Wave Central, EVS Announce SMPTE ST 2110 Interop Collaboration

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Top Reason for Subscribing to Pay TV Is Live News and TV, Survey Finds

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

NAB Leadership Foundation Honors Outstanding Broadcasters

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Wisycom Expands MPR60 With New Multichannel IFB Mode

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires Premium Manufacturer ARRI

Strategic Alignment With the Riedel Group for Innovation and Growth Thomas Riedel, founder and owner of Riedel Communications and the Riedel Group, has acqui...

15/04/2026

Iyuno Deploys SDVI Rally Platform to Accelerate and Scale...

SDVI, the leading platform provider for cloud-native media supply chains, today announced that the company's Rally platform has been deployed by Iyuno Media...

15/04/2026

Frequency Leads the Industry in Live Local News on FAST

Frequency, the engine behind many of the worlds leading streaming television channels, has become the platform of choice for leading U.S. broadcasters bringing ...

15/04/2026

Harmonic Introduces Breakthrough AI Orchestration Service...

New Service Simplifies Integration of AI Applications with Exceptional Reliability and Security SAN JOSE, Calif. April 14, 2026 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) t...

15/04/2026

VIDI and Media Links Bring Scalable IP Transport to Germa...

During the 2025 off-season, VIDI completed a major upgrade of the broadcast infrastructure across all 36 stadiums in Germany's 1st and 2nd Bundesliga. The p...

15/04/2026

Clear-Com Introduces Transformational Arcadia and Eclipse...

Clear-Com announced significant updates to its award-winning Arcadia Central Station as well as enhancements to the Eclipse HX Digital Matrix System now runn...

15/04/2026

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB SHOW 2026

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB SHOW 2026 Brie Clayton April 15, 2026 0 Comments New system removes PTZ pan restric...

15/04/2026

LiveU Announces Expanded Collaboration with Sony at NAB Show, Adding Direct File Workflow Integration

LiveU Announces Expanded Collaboration with Sony at NAB Show, Adding Direct File...

15/04/2026

This 24-Hour Performance Art Piece Needs Your Participation

This 24-Hour Performance Art Piece Needs Your Participation Keefer Glenshaws latest project is about collaborating with the Berklee community and beyond. Apr...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Haivision Launches Falkon X4 5G Mobile Video Transmitter

Haivision has announced the Falkon X4, a 5G mobile video transmitter for live broadcast and remote production. The device will be showcased at NAB Show 2026. ...

14/04/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Stripe TVs Matthew Pavey on Making Live-Production Tech More Portable, Intuitive, and Accessible

Founded by veterans of the production-truck world, Stripe TV was born out of a d...

14/04/2026

Studio Berlin Adds LDX 135 and LDX 180 Camera Systems from Grass Valley

Grass Valley has expanded its partnership with Studio Berlin, supplying 12 LDX 135 UHD/HDR camera systems and 12 LDX 180 Super 35mm cinematic cameras, including...

14/04/2026

LTN Appoints Mark Romano and Edward Cox to Vice President Roles

LTN has announced two senior appointments ahead of NAB Show 2026: Mark Romano as Vice President, Multichannel Platforms, and Edward Cox as Vice President, Sales...

14/04/2026

Agor and Sennheiser to Deploy Largest Spectera System to Date at Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Sennheiser and Italian rental company Agor have begun preparations for their Eu...

14/04/2026

DAZN and ADI Predictstreet Announce Prediction Market Partnership Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

DAZN and ADI Predictstreet have announced a partnership to integrate ADI Predict...

14/04/2026

Deltatre Completes Digital Platform for Serie A as Part of Four-Season Partnership

Deltatre has announced the completion of a direct-to-fan website and app for Leg...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Daktronics to Exhibit with Grass Valley

Daktronics, will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 in partnership with Grass Valley at Booth C2408, Las Vegas Convention Center, April 19-22. Daktronics will showcase a...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Backblaze to Host Partner Showcases

Backblaze will host a series of partner presentations at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1259, North Hall), open to all exhibition hall badge holders. Showcase partners i...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: BRAHMA AI to Exhibit Enterprise AI Content Platform

BRAHMA AI will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2415, West Hall), demonstrating its Enterprise AI Content Platform for media, entertainment, sports, and technol...

14/04/2026

Bridge Technologies VB440 Integrated into NEP Platform

Bridge Technologies has announced that its VB440 production probe has been integrated into NEP Platform, NEP Group's software orchestration system. The inte...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Clear-Com to Demonstrate Expanded Intercom Ecosystem

Clear-Com will introduce new products and demonstrate its communications ecosystem for broadcast and live production at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5807, April 19-22)...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: EZDRM to Introduce Revenue Security Prism Framework

EZDRM will use NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2260) to introduce the Revenue Security Prism, a framework for combining multiple security technologies to protect streamin...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telos Alliance Product Preview

Telos Alliance will introduce the following products at NAB Show 2026: TV and Media Telos Infinity MK2 Panels: A new generation of hardware control panels for...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Panasonic to Showcase IP and IT Production Solutions

Panasonic Video and Audio Systems North America will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C3509), demonstrating IP- and IT-based production solutions for sports, bro...

14/04/2026

Behind the Mic: WNBA Adds Sue Bird, Sophie Cunningham to Networks Commentary Teams; John Buccigross Signed to ESPN Extension

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design Announces Multiple New Products

Blackmagic Design will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N2502). CEO Grant Petty s product announcement livestream is available at youtube.com. The company announ...

14/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires ARRI, Adding Camera and Lighting Component to Riedel Group Portfolio

The deal establishes a close strategic alignment' between the iconic cinema...

14/04/2026

Taming the Untamed: Producing the 2026 Absa Cape EPIC Mountain-Bike Race

BIGSHOT Media, with support from Teradek, produced untamed African mountain-bike race' with daily coverage and highlights show The 2026 Absa Cape EPIC, an...

14/04/2026

SVG Announces Sports AI Innovation Lab to Advance the Use of AI in Live Production

The Sports Video Group (SVG) today announced the launch of the SVG AI Innovation...

14/04/2026

Supporting Safe Space Flights with WESCAM MX-Series Imaging Systems

WESCAM MX -Series EO/IR Systems Provide Critical Visibility During NASA Re-Entry Operations....

14/04/2026

L3Harris Demonstrates Autonomous Electronic Warfare Capability During US Army Experiment

DiSCO reduces uncertainty during the fog of war in modern threat environments an...

14/04/2026

GOES-19 One Year Later: Protecting Communities Through Advanced Technology

GOES-19 imagery captured by L3Harris-built Advanced Baseline Imager technology helps forecasters issue life-saving weather warnings. Credit: NOAA/NASA...

14/04/2026

Reimagining Earth Measurement for the AI Era: L3Harris and Xoople Develop a New Spacebourne Capability

For decades, understanding the physical world from space has required a trade-of...

14/04/2026

Nielsen Appoints Roberto Ruiz to Lead Measurement Science

Ruiz has helped fuel growth for both client-side and media companies, including, most recently, TelevisaUnivision. He will spearhead transformation, innovatio...

14/04/2026

LTN Appoints Mark Romano, Edward Cox to Leadership Positions

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Grass Valley Adds Telestream Vantage, Pulse and UP to AMPP

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

XenData Announces Backup, Archive and Cloud-Connect for LucidLink

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires ARRI

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/04/2026

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Pann...

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB 2026 New system removes PTZ pan restrictions for teleprompter-based productions Shotoku US...

14/04/2026

Telestream and Grass Valley Connect Live and File-Based W...

Integration of Vantage, Pulse, and Telestream UP with Grass Valley AMPP Ecosystem enables scalable, interoperable workflows spanning live production and file-ba...

14/04/2026

Dalet Appoints Brian Doheny as President and Chief Revenu...

Enterprise growth leader to scale Dalet's next phase of innovation and global expansion New York, NY April 14, 2026 Dalet, a leading technology and ser...

14/04/2026

Berklee Celebrates Prince's Legacy in Two-Night Signature Series Event

Berklee Celebrates Prince's Legacy in Two-Night Signature Series Event Directed by Tia Fuller, the Prince Project (April 16-17) brings together more than ...

14/04/2026

Arooj Aftab Is Anything but Predictable

Arooj Aftab Is Anything but Predictable The singular artist explores the juxtaposition of grief and joy, dark and light, in her distinctive sound. April 14, ...

14/04/2026

Appear Expands X Platform from Core to Edge at NAB Show 2...

Appear launches include XM estate management and new X Platform processing enhancements to add density for next-generation hybrid & IP workflows, X5 is also now...