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.

RENT THIS SOUNDWORK