Pianist, composer, and conceptualist Aruán Ortiz and composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Joan Arnau Pàmies team up for From the Depths (“des de la profunditat” in Catalan), a new album based on the consequences of global warming. Created for prepared piano, live electronics, and additional instruments, From the Depths stems from a narrative where events such as droughts, extreme temperatures, and floods become the basis for the musical ideas presented throughout the piece. The work seeks to generate awareness of the climate crisis and use experimental creation as a means to mobilization.

Divided into eight tracks, each focusing on a major consequence of global warming, From the Depths lies between art and climate activism. Throughout the music, Ortiz and Pàmies strongly indicate the need to immediately change human behavior towards the planet.

This album, which is the first collaboration between the two artists, stems from the relationship between two central elements: the piano, prepared and performed by Ortiz, and the electronics, performed by Pàmies. The music arises from genres such as electronic music, modern jazz, and contemporary experimentalism, with influences such as Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Laurie Spiegel, Aphex Twin, and Cecil Taylor.

The album was recorded by violinist and recording engineer Alfons Pérez and Joan Arnau Pàmies at L’Intèrpret (Lleida, Catalonia) in the months of October, November, and December of 2022. Ortiz and Pàmies mixed the tracks together and composer and sound engineer, Chris Mercer, mastered them at his studio in Chicago, Illinois.

Produced by Pàmies and released by Catalan label Protomaterial Records, From the Depths is available digitally and as a limited edition on Compact Disc on Bandcamp. The album features original watercolor paintings by Dolors Olivé, photographs by Michal Novak, and liner notes by climate activist and musician Maria Albà Díaz.

des de la profunditat was partially funded by a grant from the Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia.