Perforation, 3.7.13, performed by the Center for New Music

Recording session with the Center for New Music Chamber Ensemble
http://www.uiowa.edu/~cnm/#99

We've Got Soul Power, for chamber orchestra 5.1.13

This song was composed using AI, Machine Learning, and Algorithmic musical techniques to the fullest extent possible. The band’s name, song title, lyrics, melody, harmonic structure, drum track, images, mixing and mastering process were all performed using AI, ML or algorithmic software commonly available to the consumer. Team members: Jason Palamara, Joel Matthys, Justin K. Comer, Matt Vice, Lori Palamara, Mohammad al Hasan.

Zillion Inch Keytar, Body Of A Nightmare (AI Song Contest 2021!)

This track was composed, performed, mixed, and mastered by artificial intelligence for the 2022 AI Song Contest. Indy Rubbish Mice is a team comprising of musicians, AI researchers, physicists, and technologists based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and led by Dr. Jason Palamara. The vision of this team is to use popular music-making as a way to deeply engage in the intersection of technology, creativity, and musicianship with artificial intelligence tools. The diversity in expertise in this team creates opportunities to explore structured sound through both technical and creative lenses, investigating how algorithmic methods balance or even compete with the idea of traditional aesthetics and music theory in songwriting. The team members consist of university faculty in music technology, acoustics, and physics, and include Ph.D. students, Master's students, and undergraduate students that are a subset of the Artificial Intelligence in Music Working Group (AIMWoG) housed at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis.

Indy Rubbish Mice, "Only If You Wanna" (AI Song Contest 2022!)

This track was co-composed with my student Hidi.  I think she's come a very long way in a short period of time.
;; )

ihearwhatyouhear (2014) for solo laptop co-composed with HIDI

Almost everyone agrees that human beings have a thing called a soul; an indefinable, supernatural spirit that transcends the physical body and makes up the essence of who a person is. Many people who believe in souls also believe you can lose or degrade your soul by committing certain bad actions. Objectively, society mostly agrees regarding what actions will lead to the loss or degradation of a soul. A person, in striving for something he wants but does not deserve may foolishly harm or degrade his soul. But can a person give their soul away? Is it possible to trade your soul for some cheap, transient thing? If so, what seemingly innocent road might lead one to make this choice? To what or whom is the sold soul given? Also, to whom did it really belong in the first place?

This piece is dedicated to the JACK Quartet with all possible gratitude for their artistry, brilliance, and willingness to work with composers whose careers are still in the birthing stages. My own experiences with the JACK have been the highlight of my time as a composition student at the University of Iowa. I can’t thank them enough for their hard work, technical brilliance, and patience!

never bowing down (2014), performed by the JACK Quartet

This piece was commissioned by my good friend, dancer/choreographer Irina Gass, who gave me carte blanche to write whatever I wanted for her to dance to.

not yours, but mine (2015), for Violin and HIDI

"Each morn new widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows strike heaven on the face…" Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 3

This performance features Justin Comer on the saxophone and electronics, myself on electric violin, and a fantastic cast of dancers from the University of Iowa, under the direction of Charlotte Adams.  An accompanying video of this performance at Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica California will be available at some point in the future.

DYSPHONIA (2015), for electric violin, saxophone, four laptops (HIDI) and dancers

Almost everyone agrees, at least in principle, that it is wrong for human beings to kill each other. This seems to be a universal rule. And yet it happens all the time, in every country, society, and time period. Why do we do this? What seemingly innocent road do people set out on that leads them to eventually taking another person’s life. Working at Oakdale Prison in Coralville, Iowa, has given me opportunities to meet and make music with a number of murderers. I have found that, for the most part, they seem like regular people that you might meet anywhere out in the world and I wonder what in their lives could have led them to commit such heinous acts. My guess is that none of them started out with any intention toward doing evil, but that there was something they prized as more important than another person’s life and following this logic can, at times, lead one to murder. I imagine that the dividing line between murderer and innocent man is not usually a wide one and that if you are ever going to murder another person it must already be starting today. Ask yourself, who is it that you treat as less than a person? Is there a person or group of persons you secretly despise? Maybe it’s people of a certain race, color, creed, or orientation. Or maybe it’s just the people who serve you…or garbage collectors. Or maybe it’s the murderers in prison. Are they less than human to you? If so, and if you allow yourself to give in to this belief, you may be on the road to joining them someday. 

And yet, this piece is not meant to be a gloomy affair but to appeal to your better nature. Somewhere, underneath the clouded logic and bad tempers of even the most miserable offender is a heart longing to be happy. Longing to be free…to be a child again and laugh. Longing to be simple and live in the sunshine. This is the cure to the murderer’s disease. Whether this music pleases you or not, I urge you to take that cure and spend your life searching for truth and beauty.

This piece is dedicated to the Enid Trio with all possible gratitude for their artistry, brilliance and friendship. 

now we are murderers as well (2014) for violin, viola and bassoon performed by the Enid Trio

Almost everyone agrees that humans should not work too much.  This seems to be a universal rule, yet most of our lives are lived like a relentless rat race without any cheese.  My father worked hard all his life, seemingly never taking a day off and it eventually led to a fatal heart attack.  He lived for 58 years and never experienced the joy of a good day off.  It is said that God took one day off in seven...why don't we?  

"no more todays onlyesterdays" was written for violist Manuel Tábora and premiered by Manuel with myself accompanying on the laptop.  Manuel's exuberant playing style and exacting virtuosity was a major influence on the writing of the piece.  The laptop portion of the piece is played on HIDI (Human Instrument, Digital Interface), a software application I have been writing since 2009.  The goal of my HIDI project is to create a completely autonomous composition system that will make it's own music and respond intelligently to received audio and visual stimuli.  HIDI currently has the ability to make some decisions herself, including whether she is in the mood to play music.  She can even make a little music without me telling her to.  But she doesn't want to take over the world...she just wants your half of it.

no more todays onlyesterdays (2015), for Viola, Laptop and HIDI performed by Manuel Tabora Deras

This piece was commissioned by choreographer Charlotte Adams and premiered at the University of Iowa on February 11, 2016.  Charlotte's beautiful piece was called "Here Comes the Sun," but I changed the name of my corresponding music because, you know...there's that OTHER piece of music called "Here Comes The Sun."  Anyway, a special thanks to dancers Emily McElwain and Kristen Vasilakos (the dancers in the picture).

there goes the sun (2016), for violin and laptops

This is an edited improvisation performed by composer jason palamara for Jennifer Kayle's improvisation for dance class on March 10, 2016 (at the University of Iowa).  No dancers were stuck to the floor during the making of this composition.  Instrumentation - Violin & Laptop / Human Instrument Digital Intelligence (HIDI) software.

stuck on the floor (2016), for violin and HIDI

Jason Palamara is a performer/sound artist from New Jersey living and teaching in Indiana. He teaches electronic music and composition at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.  He also has teaching experience from Indiana Wesleyan University, Butler University, Indiana State University, Grinnell College, The University of Iowa, and The University of Louisville and ten million other places. He has composed music for many dance, film and theater projects, and specialized in new music technologies, collaboration and improvisation.  He was a founder of LOUi, the Laptop Orchestra at the University of Iowa and is currently building the world's first laptop orchestra made of 100% recycled machines, #trashchestra. He is also one half of the electro-acoustic sax and violin and laptops duo JC//jp with Iowa composer-musician Justin Comer.  You can find links to his music, events and more info at www.jasonpalamara.com.

jason palamara

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