Maria Arnal

Maria Arnal is considered one of the most recognized and groundbreaking voices of the contemporary musical scene in Spain. Based in Barcelona, she blends her facet as a songwriter, fusing avant-garde pop, electronics and polyphonic traditional music, with projects that explore the realms of sound, technology and art.

During the last years, she has been widely recognized with numerous awards, including the Ciutat de Barcelona Prize (2016), the Independent Music Awards (Premios MIN), Premio Ruido (2022) and nominations for the Ondas Awards in 2023 for Cada Capa de l'Atmosfera and Premis Gaudí (2024), among others. After releasing two full-length aclaimed albums with Marcel Bagés, she has performed at some of the most iconic festivals, such as the Sónar 2022 Festival, where she presented the show Hiperutopía with the “Orfeó Català” girls' choir, and on renowned international stages, like the TED Talks event in Vancouver 2023, among others.

As a composer, she has contributed in various projects such as the sound piece AIR, for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021 and SIRENA, for the Hipermirador Torre Glòries 2022, a generative choral piece that reacts in real time with the big data of Barcelona, developed in collaboration with the producer John Talabot. Additionally, she co-directs, with curator Jose Luis de Vicente, the sound essay Cada capa de l'Atmosfera (CCCB 2022), connecting sonic consciousness with the climate emergency, earning nominations for two ONDAS awards. In 2023-2024 she creates Maria CHOIR, an interactive human-AI sound installation that has been presented in the exhibition “AI:Artificial Intelligence” curated by Lluís Nacenta and hosted by CCCB, in collaboration with BSC and Axolot.com

Currently, she is exploring the potential of synthetic voice models generated with artificial intelligences, in a project together with the Centro Nacional de Supercomputación, having won the S+T+Arts grant, while she is deeply engaged in composing her next album, marking the debut full-length solo release.