Niké Áptera

Today, April 29, is the International Day of Dance, and there is no better date for the launch of Niké Áptera.. Why? You can discover it a little below, but first I ask you to listen to Nike Áptera, and to do it in a special way: bare feet, in contact with the ground, so that you can feel the cold directly on your skin and that sensation it melds with music. I also ask you to read this text before listening to the piece:

“Niké: in Greek mythology, goddess of Victory. Áptera: wingless.

Nike was the symbol of naval victories, which the Greeks cut off its wings to prevent it from leaving the city.

500 years ago 266 men embarked in search of spices, fame and fortune. 248 of these men did not finish the trip.

In the last 5 years, more than 1 million people have jumped into the Mediterranean Sea to reach Greece trying to save their lives.

19,164 people have not finished the trip.”

(If you don’t have Spotify, you can find Niké Áptera on iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Youtube Music and any digital music distribution platform)

Before knowing the history of this piece of music, what sensations has it left to you? Please, leave them for me as a “post-it” on this virtual board (click or tap on the pink circle with the + sign). It can be something you write, an image, a video, a link … whatever you want.

What is hidden behind the music of  Niké Áptera? This is its history…

“Niké: in Greek mythology, goddess of Victory. Áptera: wingless.

Nike was the symbol of naval victories, which the Greeks cut off its wings to prevent it from leaving the city.

500 years ago 266 men embarked in search of spices, fame and fortune. 248 of these men did not finish the trip.

In the last 5 years, more than 1 million people have jumped into the Mediterranean Sea to reach Greece trying to save their lives.

19,164 people have not finished the trip.”

With this text began the presentation of Niké Áptera, the contemporary dance choreography for which I composed this song, in the past TEDx ULoyola Andalucía. A bet, from music and dance, to make you feel, in a different way, what it means to jump into the sea to save your life. The human drama of the tens of thousands of deaths in our Mediterranean Sea, before the impassive gaze of a Europe that, against the will of millions of true European citizens, continues to close borders.

Three years ago I participated in the sound design of “Contramarea”, a documentary by Carlos Escaño that told the story of the refugees who arrived in Lesbos fleeing from different tragedies, from different countries, and the odyssey (pun intended) of a group of Spanish firefighters, who literally jumped into the sea to save the lives of as many people as they could. That work was a way for me to see how, through my professional and creative activity, I could contribute to, at the very least, give visibility to this dramatic reality. But that participation fell short of me. The experience impressed me so much, it transformed me in such a way that I felt the need to be able to express through music everything that I had felt, and make whoever listened to it participate in that same reality. Music can connect emotionally, almost viscerally, and when combined with dance, the result is incredibly powerful. From that need arose Niké Áptera. I proposed to Marta Toro, a dancer, choreographer, but above all a good friend, to create a choreography based on this idea, also contrasting that survival journey with the one that Magellan made 500 years ago, for its premiere at the TEDx ULoyola Andalucía.

Musically, Niké Áptera has led me to explore unknown paths, to create music that until this moment I had not been able to compose, totally different from anything I had done before. A music that emerged in a totally fluid, natural way, giving free rein to many feelings, emotions, tears, that were there inside, waiting for the music to come and let them out.