Sam Salem

Sam Salem is a PRiSM Lecturer in Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), specializing in audiovisual works that blend instrumental performance with electronics, video, and computational techniques. His interdisciplinary work spans electronic/computer music, visual art, computer science, and English literature, with a focus on exploring ambiguity and the Uncanny through machine learning and AI.

He is a founding member and co-artistic director of Distractfold Ensemble, which received the Kranichstein Music Prize for Interpretation (first British ensemble to do so). His compositions have been performed globally and honored with awards such as the HearSay Prize (2015), Prix Palma Ars Acustica nomination (2015), and Concours Luc Ferrari (2012). Recent works include THIS IS FINE (2021), Midlands (2019), and The Lovers (2017), which was praised in the New York Times for its 'chamber-orchestra pandemonium with accomplished video work.'

Current research focuses on machine-learning audio synthesis in collaboration with PRiSM’s Research Software Engineer, Christopher Melen.