Construct Madrid (2005; 4 x 00:10:15).
Commissioned by Itineraries of Sound, Madrid)
On March 11, 2004, ten explosions were detonated aboard
four commuter trains in Madrid, killing 191 people and
wounding more than 1,800. This led to the withdrawal of
Spanish troops from Iraq, and defied American President
George W. Bush’s attempts to pressure “Coalition Forces”
into continuing to sacrifice their troops to advance
American oil interests. I wanted to express my sympathy and
solidarity with Spain in this tragedy, and offer it sounds
of hope, strength and optimism about the future. The Banco
de España allowed us to record a wide variety of sounds at
its construction site at the new wing of their building in
Alcalá 58 in Madrid. With the technical assistance of
Fernando de Giles at the Residencia de Estudiantes, we
edited and mixed them into a looped foundational soundtrack
based in two found rhythms that phase into and out of
synchronicity. Musicians Arturo Herrera (xylophone and
marimbas); Samuel Juárez (congas); Alejandro Korostola
(drums); and Jose Luis Martin (bass guitar) then improvised
over it as an ensemble. Joaquín Rodriguez was the operating
studio technician and Florence Moreno the supervising
technician. Finally, Barry Sturgis of Axis Audio on Cape
Cod did the final editing and mixing of the tracks into the
completed version of Construct Madrid. This work was
available for listening at a bus stop near where the
terrorist bombings occurred.