Castillos en el cielo (castles in the sky)

"Castillos en el Cielo (Castles in the Sky) was inspired by a field recording of a "castell" (human tower) being built in the Cathedral Square of Tarragona on September 11, 2022, the National Day of Catalonia. Castell building is a deeply cherished tradition for the Catalan people, and for many would be an embedded expression of what it means to be Catalan. This tradition is an immersive sensory experience for all who witness it. Yet, for both the castellers and the audience, it is the reedy melody of the gralles (traditional Catalan wind instruments) and the rhythm of the timbal that provide the sonic narrative, anchoring the event in collective memory. The progressive melodies and rhythms mirror the phases of the castell’s construction, guiding both the builders and the spectators through the experience. In the field recording, you can almost hear the musicians and the crowd breathe in unison, locking in memory the visual, aural, and emotional dimensions of the moment.

"To create Castillos en el Cielo, I used the field recording as my sole sound source. My approach involved isolating tiny fragments of the recording and layering them in a collage. I sought to capture the sensation of being immersed in this experience and then revisiting it in a dream—whether hours, days, or years later. I wanted to explore what would be preserved in the unconscious: fleeting melodies, bursts of applause, waves of anticipation and release, snippets of conversations. I also aimed to evoke a sense of timelessness, suggesting that the castells transcend any single moment in time. Instead, we experience and participate in them as links in an unbroken chain, stretching through history."

Human Towers in Tarragona reimagined by Chrissie Butler.

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This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.

Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage