As a synthesizer player and vocal-teller, Palmer's dedication to improvisation has taken many dimensions, including collaborations with the legendary and diverse talents of Derek Bailey, Fred Frith, Shelley Hirsch, Amy Denio, Davey Williams, Steve Beresford, Frank Pahl, Borbetomagus, Bob "tappy" Stagner, Gino Robair, Tony Oxley, Roger Turner, Ladonna Smith, Eugene Chadbourne, Jessica Lurie and Japanese dancer Min Tanaka.
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Keyboard magazine describes his distinctive synth-vocabulary as: "Palmer makes his instrument speak in tongues. This is glosslalia, spoken in syllables one can almost touch..." & Atlanta's Creative Loafing states that Palmer "...remains, no contest, the world's most colorfully inventive synthesizer player."
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Palmer also has collaborated with Colonel Bruce Hampton, Drag City's David Pajo of Papa M., NPR commentator/Duplex Planet editor David Greenberger and folk artist Rev. Howard Finster.
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In 1986 Palmer & Bob Stagner co-founded the Shaking Ray Levis, an ongoing collaboration of musicians with a common interest in free improvisation. They were the first American group to be recorded/produced by Incus Records, one of the world’s most important improvisation-based record labels.
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Currently performing & recording with Shelley Hirsch, Colonel Bruce Hampton's Egyptian Windmill Operators (w/Davey Williams), & many "other" Shaking Ray Levi Society projects.
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DEVICES & THE LIKE: XXX Synthesizers (analog & digital), Moog LP II, Electro-Harmonix 16 Digital Delay, MoogerFooger (MF101, MF102, CP251), The Stylophone & Beat Box, Korg Monotron, Yamaha SU10, Roland Loop Station, Diabolical Devices Bent Circuit Casio SK1, Misc. Lo-Fi electronics & Game Calls.
