DJ Eye Tech: The DJ With Locked-In Syndrome

“Using an eye-controlled computer has been life-changing and producing my radio show has given me a sense of purpose.”

Bram Harrison, who goes by the name DJ Eye Tech, has locked-in syndrome – which means he is trapped in his own body unable to talk or move.

He is a DJ on a community radio station in Exeter and uses an infra-red tracker on one eye and selects letters and words on a screen.

He can also go online using his eye.

That’s how he picks the tunes for his show.

“I injured my brain in a bike accident 18 years ago. Luckily for me I can move my eyes and use my eyes to communicate.”

He jokes it is hard to express himself because he thinks he sounds “like some kind of nerd”.

“I want a bit more feeling, depth and passion.”

Before he got an eye-controlled computer he would spell words out on a board by pointing them out, but now Bram has a voice.

“There has been a massive computer music revolution and right at the same time I control computers to open up the world.

“Much of what I have done is untried and untested. It makes things very stressful and difficult. It also keeps things very exciting.”

Bram spends hours putting together each show.

“Sometimes there is a message in the music I select for the show but not always though. If I like something I will play it and it could be from many genres of music.”

He has also produced music which has featured on his radio show.

Bram is one of the people featuring in the Make It Digital season. Radio 1 has a four-part series celebrating digital creativity and innovation.

In the first part on 6 October Huw Stephens investigates how digital life has altered how young people with disabilities can experience making and watching music.

It starts on Tuesday at 21:00 BST on BBC Radio 1.