Acclaimed Argentinian composer Alejandro Bonatto has long been a force in the worlds of film, theatre, and opera. His evocative compositions, recognized with prestigious awards such as the first prize at the Ideaf Music Festival and Opera de Cámara del Teatro Colón Directors Competition, have left a lasting mark on the contemporary classical scene. Now, he returns with Blued Voices, a 12-track album that spans a decade of his creative journey.
Released on January 31, 2025, Blued Voices offers an immersive blend of acoustic and electronic elements, intertwining pop aesthetics with Baroque and Romantic influences. The album is deeply personal, a reflection of Bonatto’s evolving artistry over ten years.
We sat down with Alejandro to dive into the inspirations, challenges, and artistic philosophies behind Blued Voices and to get a glimpse of what lies ahead for this visionary composer.
Interview with Alejandro Bonatto
Alejandro: Blued Voices is a 12-track album featuring music composed over a ten-year span, from 2014 to 2024. Initially, I never intended to compile a collection spanning a decade—it was more of an organic consequence, almost a byproduct of years of exploration across different projects. During this time, I experimented with new instruments and different ways of connecting sounds and ideas.
Some of these tracks began merely as intentions—fragments of thoughts that later evolved into complete pieces. Around 2022, I started revisiting these and many other tracks. Together with Emilio Haro, we decided to give them a fresh perspective through new mixes. Gradually, I began to notice a common thread running through them—an underlying idea that linked them all together. We then carefully selected the tracks we felt belonged together, and thus, Blued Voices came to life.
Alejandro: The “voyage” is not a physical one but rather a journey through time, emotions, and sensations. Each piece captures a moment, a state of being, or an impression—rather than a specific place on a map. It’s an exploration of sound as a vessel for memory and feeling.
Alejandro: Definitely! There are always many surprises when manipulating digital instruments and effects. That is the beauty of electronics—some of the richest and most creative moments happen during post-production.
Alejandro: It’s interesting that you mention those two pieces because Sonata for Oscillators is the oldest track on the album, while La Tomba de Gaudí is the newest.
Sonata for Oscillators was a deliberate exploration of musical form in a context where traditional harmony—meaning the tonal system of chords and their combinations—is completely absent. It was influenced by my readings of Michel Chion’s work on film music, particularly his theories on how sound interacts with images.
On the other hand, La Tomba de Gaudí was born from an impression rather than a theoretical approach. I tried to translate into music the way light—or the experience of it—manifests inside Gaudí’s masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia. I visited that building on a sunny winter morning in February 2024, and its beauty is one of the treasures I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
Alejandro: I am a passionate lover of cinema, and that inevitably seeps into my work. I am also a stage director, and these two aspects of my work always influence each other. I think storytelling, even in instrumental music, fascinates me—the way sound can evoke images, emotions, and movement.
Alejandro: That is for me to know and for you to wonder.
Alejandro: No instrument carries as much meaning for us, as humans, as the human voice itself. It holds the memory of your mother singing to you before you were even born, the raw pain of crying, the joy of laughter—every shade of our immense emotional spectrum is somehow embedded in the voice.
Azul y las Voces is a humble attempt to acknowledge that.
Alejandro: My debut album was the soundtrack for a film, while Blued Voices is a purely instrumental album that stands on its own, independent of any external narrative. It will be interesting to see if that distinction is something listeners can hear.
Alejandro: I believe the meaning of success is relative and depends on personal and external expectations of one’s work.
What’s important to me is that my work reaches an audience, hoping they will find something in it that speaks to them.
Alejandro: At the moment, I’m working on the development of a new musical based on a wonderful classic book.
A Decade in Sound, a Lifetime in Emotion
With Blued Voices, Alejandro Bonatto offers more than just an album—it’s a sonic time capsule that captures the essence of a decade’s worth of experiences, memories, and artistic exploration. Seamlessly blending acoustic and electronic elements, and classical influences with cinematic storytelling, Bonatto once again proves himself to be a composer who pushes boundaries while remaining deeply connected to human emotion.
As we eagerly anticipate the release of Blued Voices and his upcoming musical project, one thing is certain—Alejandro Bonatto is a master of crafting soundscapes that linger in the mind long after the music fades.
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