Gustavo Santaolalla and students TAI present "Sound Images of Madrid"

The city of Madrid is not only seen: it is heard. Its squares, markets, and stations have their own, almost invisible musicality that escapes amidst the everyday noise. It is precisely there that the city is born. Sound Images of Madrid, An artistic project that unites legendary musician and composer Gustavo Santaolalla with more than 30 students from the University School of Arts TAI, in a unique collaboration with Madrid Film Office. 

Gustavo Santaolalla: the art of listening

Few artists have defined the soundscape of cinema as much as Gustavo Santaolalla. An Argentine composer, producer, and musician, he is a key figure in contemporary music and cinema. Winner of two Oscars for Brokeback Mountain y Babel, has produced artists such as Café Tacvba and Juanes, and is the author of soundtracks such as The Motorcycle Diaries y The Last of Us.

In this project, Santaolalla not only composes: he accompanies, inspires, and guides students in an artistic quest that places sound at the center of audiovisual creation.

When I began my relationship with the students, my intention wasn't to teach them anything, but rather to share and work with the premise that a project is good when you finish it and everyone walks away learning something new.

An immersive workshop with more than 30 students

For several weeks, more than 30 composition, directing, sound, and screenwriting students participated in an immersive workshop that led them to explore the city like never before. Under Santaolalla's mentorship, they captured the essence of Madrid through deep listening, creating four audiovisual pieces that reinterpret iconic spaces through sound experiences.

This project has given me the opportunity to spend time here in Madrid, surrounded by young people. It was ambitious, as there are many places that can represent this beautiful city.

From Retiro to the metro: Madrid as a score

The project proposes a constant coexistence between image and sound, with each shot involving the simultaneous capture of both. Four representative locations in Madrid were selected to capture their sound and visual identity. The project locations were not chosen at random.

You can watch the short films here:

• The Barley Market
• The Retiro Park
• The interior architecture of CentroCentro
• The iconic metro station of Gran Vía

The combination of image and sound allows us to experience these places in a new, almost poetic way, where the everyday is transformed into a sensorial work of art.

There's a very strong part of my identity that's Spanish. My grandfather was Andalusian, and my grandmother was Basque. I've felt, especially in recent years, a kind of personal debt to Spain. I felt the need, and still feel the need, to return to the beginning of my roots, and Madrid is always the place I want to return to. 

A three-phase protocol

1. Soundscape

In the first phase, the overall soundscape of each location was captured, accompanied by panoramic shots. The goal was to preserve the identity of the location and its atmosphere, recording at different times of the day to show its sonic and visual evolution.

2. Particular elements

Then, specific objects, people, or sounds—such as footsteps, voices, animals, or mechanisms—were identified and recorded in close-up. The musician listened as if seeing, the director looked as if hearing, and the screenwriter articulated a narrative from all these elements.

3. Final composition

Finally, a fragment of the captured footage, lasting between two and eight minutes, was selected as the basis for constructing the piece. Some teams incorporated original music; others worked solely with sound recorded in the field. One key rule was always respected: everything that was heard had to be seen, and everything that was seen had to be heard at some point.

The observer modifies what is observed; contemplation allows us to reinterpret a place through sound and a musical score. Passing by a place is not the same as sitting and observing. To try to explain this dynamic, I like to use the expression "the ear that sees and the eye that listens."

A work, not a spot

Each piece created is an artistic manifestation, not a tourist product. The locations were interpreted through emotion, memory, and mindfulness. The aesthetics of each short film are free: from documentary to dreamlike, from natural to artificial. Sound Images of Madrid It is, above all, a team effort, a collective listening, a shared vision. It has reinterpreted the everyday to transform it into art.

In this project, we worked with ambient sounds, and that was a very important part of the composition: sounds accompanied by images, and images accompanied by sounds.

A city that reveals itself when you listen to it

Sound Images of Madrid invites the viewer to explore the city with new ears: to experience the sounds in the space itself or to immerse themselves in the audiovisual work that captures this sensorial journey through Madrid's living memory. The result is works that don't require dialogue: the story is constructed through sound. Madrid thus becomes an emotional protagonist, not a simple backdrop. Through these pieces, it is possible to rediscover it with other senses: to see it with one's ears. Furthermore, the project proposes two ways to experience it: listening to the audios directly while visiting each location, or immersing oneself in the audiovisual pieces from anywhere in the world.

My love for John Cage and Murray Schafer, who invented the concept of soundscape, made me lean towards the possibility of going somewhere with a couple of microphones and capturing the essence of that place through its sounds.

A step beyond the classroom

Sound Images of Madrid It's more than an academic exercise: it's a real experience of collective creation, a direct connection with the professional and artistic world. This type of initiative, which connects students with international leaders, consolidates the commitment of TAI with a lively, experimental artistic education connected to the present. You can visit the exhibition at the University School of Arts TAI (C/Recoletos, 22, Madrid) or learn more about the route by downloading the Madrid Film Office brochure here. If you want to see how this project came about, you can see the making of here.