Symphony of the Artificial Reef - What listening to water tells us about our relationships with nature episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 22, 2025

Symphony of the Artificial Reef - What listening to water tells us about our relationships with nature

from Out of the Blue

In 2004, the City of Barcelona built five artificial reefs by submerging around 300 concrete blocks off the coast of Barcelona. Two decades on, these artificial environments are now home to a thriving marine ecosystem.The Symphony of the Artificial Reef, a sound work by Juan Pablo Pacheco Bejarano and the Institute for Postnatural Studies, explores the encounters between these cohabiting human and marine infrastructure, through listening to the sounds of marine life, submarine internet cables, gas pipelines, cargo ships, sonar and more.We spoke with Juan about what these postnatural environments tell us about binaries between humans and nature, the role of tourism and extractivism, and what we can discover by really listening to water. Plus we learnt just how loud life in the ocean can be.You can follow Juan's work at https://www.juanpablopacheco.com/ or on Instagram @juanppachecob and listen to the Symphony here: https://on.soundcloud.com/jervwtIgM0WW0Brayl PS: Can you help us keep making Out Of The Blue? This June, we need your support for 3CR's Radiothon. You can make a donation at https://www.givenow.com.au/cr/outoftheblue

In 2004, the City of Barcelona built five artificial reefs by submerging around 300 concrete blocks off the coast of Barcelona. Two decades on, these artificial environments are now home to a thriving marine ecosystem.The Symphony of the Artificial Reef, a sound work by Juan Pablo Pacheco Bejarano and the Institute for Postnatural Studies, explores the encounters between these cohabiting human and marine infrastructure, through listening to the sounds of marine life, submarine internet cables, gas pipelines, cargo ships, sonar and more.We spoke with Juan about what these postnatural environments tell us about binaries between humans and nature, the role of tourism and extractivism, and what we can discover by really listening to water. Plus we learnt just how loud life in the ocean can be.You can follow Juan's work at https://www.juanpablopacheco.com/ or on Instagram @juanppachecob and listen to the Symphony here: https://on.soundcloud.com/jervwtIgM0WW0Brayl PS: Can you help us keep making Out Of The Blue? This June, we need your support for 3CR's Radiothon. You can make a donation at https://www.givenow.com.au/cr/outoftheblue

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Symphony of the Artificial Reef - What listening to water tells us about our relationships with nature

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This episode was published on June 22, 2025.

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In 2004, the City of Barcelona built five artificial reefs by submerging around 300 concrete blocks off the coast of Barcelona. Two decades on, these artificial environments are now home to a thriving marine ecosystem.The Symphony of the Artificial...

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