SUNY Oswego professor and chair of music Paul Leary has released an extended play (EP) of original electronic music. Titled “Artificially Intelligent,” it focuses on the consequences of human actions that may be discovered long down the road. 

Individual songs have been released intermittently since last fall. Most of the EP is now available for streaming.

“I’m now in Spotify for the first time as an artist,” Leary said.

Leary described having a keen interest in AI and virtual reality, and his album is a sonic interpretation of that. He watched and read “Ready Player One,” where he found himself interested in virtual life. His album is inspired by this and other works that explore virtual worlds and the consequences of human actions.

Leary began composing the album during his sabbatical, which occurred last year. He has been working on the music for the last three years.

“I feel like the biggest thing about [composing and releasing music] is putting my money where my mouth is as a teacher,” Leary said. “If I’m going to tell students to do this and that, I should be doing it too.”

Most of the music is “atmospheric in style,” and is electronic and EDM (electronic dance music). Leary said his instrumental songs do not reference specific themes, but feelings and models of music.

Along with his music, Leary also enjoys creating visuals to accompany his music. Certain songs have “audio visualizers,” which Leary creates in Adobe AfterEffects.

Finding a voice

One of Leary’s songs, titled “Consequence,” also features his vocals. Leary described it as a “dark song [about the] human destruction of earth.”

“This is the first time ever [that] I’ve ever tried to sing vocals on anything,” Leary said. “It’s taken me a long time to write the lyrics,” Leary emphasized the difficulty of being exposed as an artist by recording vocals, despite having most of his training in the choral area.

He said lyrics are the most challenging thing to write.

Leary also works on the coding side of things, creating various sounds through electronics. He also plays the shakuhachi, a Japanese flute made of bamboo.

Beyond “Artificially Intelligent,” Leary also worked on his show “The Weight of Water.”

“My plan is to just keep writing more songs and slowly piling them onto Spotify,” Leary said. “I’m not trying to become someone big -- it takes a lot of work. I like my job just fine, and I’m old,” he added, laughing.

“Artificially Intelligent” can be streamed on multiple platforms, including on his YouTube channel and Spotify. 

-- Written by Mackenzie Shields of the Class of 2024