"Ansel" MIDI Controller

“Ansel” - a custom Bluetooth MIDI controller designed to be played like a ball - gripped, spun, and and tossed - The Ansel invites users to explore music through physical play and intuitive experimentation, blurring the lines between human action, digital logic, and embodied creativity. Built on an ESP32 and equipped with multiple sensors, it wirelessly controls sound, samples, and visuals in real time, making music making accessible, immediate, and fun for anyone,. This project explores ideas like play as embodied knowledge, ludic interactivity, and the posthuman performative body, reimagining the music interface as a responsive space that listens and reacts. Ultimately, The Ansel is a proposal for a more playful, open, and inclusive future for music technology, with room to grow into group performances, public installations, and new sensory possibilities.