Secuencia V: ‘Fertilidad, estratificación y muerte permanente, coda: Antracita’ in collaboration with Trio Zukan [site-specific sound intervention] (2022)

The Cerezales Antonino y Cinia Foundation commissioned Hara Alonso and Trio Zukan (txistu, accordion and percussion) a one year research project to compose a concert in the engine room of the abandoned mine of Sahelices de Sabero, León (Spain). This room was built in 1930 during the golden days of coal minig in the North of Spain.

How to read a space from a sonic perspective and compose for it?

The geological, historical, social and architectural layers began to emerge as we explored the corners of the machinery, the chipped walls and the memories of the land. The acoustic properties of the space guided us through its irregular echo: the engine room became a permeable speaker and microphone through its open 14 windows- the wind, the birds, the disperse human sounds passing by the valley.

We used the building also as instrument by hanging 32 percussion instruments from the windows, amplifying the machinery using hat-DPA microphones as wel as playing with the in-out space.

Inspired by the geological processes of coal, the stratification from foresty to mineral and finally the extraction or death, the piece took shap as a sound installation where the audience was guided through the different strata.

[set up] : 8 loudspeakers (4 inside, 4 outside), 3 DPA mics, 2 condenser mics, natural corpses, accordion, percussions (drums), txistu and 32 hanging percussion instruments (gongs, cymbals, springs, bells…).

SECUENCIAS is a series of sound interventions in space by curated by Luis Martinez Campo at the FAYC Foundation , Cerezales del Condado, Spain.