Musician who composes with his nose hopes to break barriers in music industry

Disabled musician Michael Lerman hopes that having his song performed live will inspire other disabled musicians (Credit: Michael Lerman)

A musician with cerebral palsy who uses his nose to write lyrics has said that his fight to get his song performed live shows the barriers that disabled people still face in the music industry.

Michael Lerman, whose arms and legs are paralysed due to cerebral palsy, is hoping that his nose-written song ‘She Wrote’ will transform the music industry and how it values disabled artists.

Despite teaming up with London-based singer Kah’Nya to perform his song, music venues in the capital have ignored their attempts to showcase their work.

Lerman, who lives in San Francisco, said: ‘Because of my disability, in many ways, I do not exist. 

‘For people with disabilities, isolation and lack of resources continues to be a problem. It is extremely difficult to get any visibility. 

‘For me and Kah’Nya, the more people who will hear our song, our story, the more people will start to care.’

The songwriter and composer spent three weeks writing the pop rock lyrics with his nose before matching with the BBC-featured singer Kah’Nya, real name Khanya Dhliwayo, on a collaborative forum at the beginning September.

The pair then finished producing their song but have since hit a brick wall in trying to find a venue for Kah’Nya to perform in London.

The musician continued: ‘Cold calling is not taken seriously. It’s challenging to get gigs especially in central London, where most of the traction is.’

Lerman, whose conditions means he stutters severely, also composes his own instrumental music that through painstaking use of voice command to his computer.

He added: ‘Every click, every drag, every little adjustment with a mouse or a keyboard takes multiple voice commands. 

‘Through pain and torture, I listen to version, after version, after version, until I hear something that sounds workable.’

Despite having published a book of written lyric, which he claims is the world’s first book written and published by voice alone, nothing he has written has ever been performed live in 26 years of trying.

‘How am supposed to inspire the next generation, especially youth with disabilities?’ asked Lerman.

‘What do I tell them, after I tell them about all the accomplishments? That I receive food stamps? 

‘This sounds like despite my best efforts, human society could not figure out how to allocate my talents and skills enough for me to pay for my caregiver and an apartment.’

Kah’Nya, an 18-year-old singer-songwriter who has been featured on the BBC Introducing radio show, added the instrumentals and vocals to ‘She Wrote’ and is now battling to find a venue to perform Lerman’s lyrics in London.

The singer was born in Zimbabwe before moving to the UK in 2023 and has since collected over 50,000 music streams and a number of festival performances.

She wants to use her platform and contacts to shine a light on Lerman’s ‘pioneering’ music.

Zimbabwe-born singer Kah’Nya is attempting to get her and Lerman’s song performed across London (Credit: Rachel Hill)

‘I am in awe of what he has done and what he has achieved and does not get the recognition that he deserves,’ the singer said.

‘There are so many communities within the music industry that go unrecognised which is due to the bias from consumers and from the people who hold significant power in the industry.

‘Sometimes it takes that one person to lift the culture and raise awareness of these things.

‘The quality of Michael’s work is undeniable. That work alone should be acknowledged and put centre stage, no matter his background.’

Despite contacting multiple venues, Kah’Nya says due to a saturated music industry she has been ignored or turned down on each occasion.

She added: ‘A lot of independent artists go around and knock on the door and ask to perform – a lot of the time you find yourself in the dark – it can be draining.’

‘When it comes to trying to get gigs it is like finding gold in darkness.’

Kah’Nya and Michael are continuing to contact venues and agencies to fulfil Michael’s lifelong dream to bring his music to a live stage and represent disabled musicians in the industry, while the pair are also working on a second song called ‘Ay’.

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