Pozu Candín, 2013
Composition by Óscar de Ávila for the project The Mine and its sound. A project by LABoral, coordinated by José Manuel Costa in collaboration with Juanjo Palacios, in coincidence with Aprendiendo de las Cuencas, project curated by Nacho Ruiz Allén and Sara López Arraiza, de Zon-e Arquitectos y coproduced by LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial and SabadellHerrero.
This composition has been created from recordings made in the Pozu Candín coalmine and its surroundings in the Vega district of La Felguera.
The composition is conceived as a journey that begins in the urbanscape, perceivable from passing trains and the traffic of the hopper wagons area. This coexists at the same time with the sounds of nature and the rural world where birds and pets can be heard. The trip continues through the Vega district and the houses near the mine entrance where neighbours chat about what’s happening in their lives. The end of this journey turns its focus on the industrial landscape of the mine which is currently being wound down, with the sounds coming from the occasional maintenance work and the compressors that are still operative.
Water acts as a unifying element in the compositional structure and it can be found everywhere and in many ways: in the pool which collects the water extracted from the galleries or in the sound of the rain pouring over the architecture.
Acknowledgments: trabajadores del workers from Pozu Candín, particularly Graciano Álvarez Ardura y and Aquilino Díaz Antuña