Maria Arnal is one of the most innovative and groundbreaking voices in contemporary music in Spain. Based in Barcelona, she combines her role as a songwriter, merging electronics, avant-pop, and traditional polyphonic music, with projects that explore sound, technology, and art. Her work has garnered critical acclaim and multiple awards, including several Independent Music Awards in Spain, the 2017 Premi Ciutat de Barcelona, the 2018 Ojo Crítico Award from RTVE, the 2022 Premio Ruido, the 2024 Premi Continuarà RTVE, the 2024 Honorary Mention at the S+T+ARTS Prize from Ars Electronica, and the 2025 Gaudí Cinema Award, among many others.
She has performed at some of the most iconic festivals, such as Sónar Festival, and on prestigious international stages, including a TED Talk event in Vancouver. In 2025, she unveiled new music as a preview of her upcoming album at Sónar Festival and performed at notable events and venues such as the CERN Art and Science Summit, the Venice Dance Biennale, and international festivals including Romaeuropa in Rome and Iceland Airwaves in Iceland, among others.
As a composer, she has contributed to innovative projects such as Flors de veu (2025), a mixed-reality sound installation that highlights the pioneers of vocal experimentation and the world of bioacoustics through custom-built AI music tools, with the support of Sónar, 3CAT, and Melt. Other projects include AIR, a sound piece for the 2021 Venice Biennale of Architecture, and SIRENA, a generative choral work that interacts in real time with Barcelona’s big data, created for the 2022 Hipermirador Torre Glòries in collaboration with producer John Talabot. She co-directs Cada capa de l’Atmosfera (CCCB), a sonic essay connecting sound awareness with the climate emergency, which was nominated for two ONDAS Awards in 2023.
As part of a longstanding and prolific creative collaboration, Maria has composed music for several dance productions by choreographer Marcos Morau, including Afanador (2024), Sonoma (2024), and La mort i la primavera (2025), in which she also appears as a principal performer alongside the dancers of La Veronal. She is currently composing the music for, and will perform in, Kinkaku-ji, scheduled to premiere at the BUNKAMURA Theatre in Tokyo in August 2026.
In 2024, she presented Maria CHOIR, an interactive installation featuring synthetic reproductions of her voice, in collaboration with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and Axolot, as part of the AI: Artificial Intelligence exhibition at CCCB. The piece was showcased at the European digital arts festival Ars Electronica in Linz.
Also in 2024, she composed the original soundtrack for the film Polvo Serán, directed by Carlos Marquès-Marcet and a winner at the Toronto Film Festival. The score was nominated for Best Original Music at the Feroz Awards and won at the Gaudí Awards. Additionally, she composed the original song for the film La Virgen Roja, earning a nomination at the Goya Cinema Awards.
Building on her exploration of synthetic voice models generated through artificial intelligence, supported by the S+T+ARTS grant, she is leading a research project in collaboration with the National Supercomputing Center. This research forms part of her first solo full-length album and international tour, AMA, released with Atlantic Records in February 2026.
