New sounds for a new world: the creative reuse projects of Rocco Papia

Rocco Papia is an Italian composer and sonic alchemist who transforms discarded materials into music and meaning. He performs across Europe and beyond, turning waste into instruments, everyday objects into symphonies, and ideas into immersive experiences that blend art, science, and ecological awareness.

Since moving to Barcelona in 2015, Rocco has not only worked as a musician collaborating with international artists such as Chico César, Pau Donés (Jarabe de Palo), and others, but he has also developed projects that give new life to the forgotten, transforming discarded materials into both unique instruments and immersive sound experiences.

His workshops New Sounds for a New World are a perfect example of his educational approach: children, students, and communities learn to craft instruments from trash, discovering creativity, teamwork, and environmental responsibility along the way. Over 2,500 young participants have already experienced this transformative method.

Meanwhile, his musical project, the Orquesta ReuSónica Trío (ORT), continues to evolve as a collective, featuring musicians like Xavi Lozano (La Fura dels Baus, Jorge Drexler) and Antonio Sánchez Barranco (Miguel Poveda, La Fura, Coetus). Performing internationally, ORT proves that discarded materials can produce sounds just as powerful—and moving—as traditional instruments.

In 2020, he founded ISRAW (International Sonic Reuse Art Workshop), a collective of international artists dedicated to C.R.A.—artworks made from creatively reused waste. Through ISRAW, Rocco has produced large-scale, playful, and thought-provoking installations like Sound Coral (2021), Giardino dei Suoni (2022), Sonus Horti (2023), and Restitucions Mediterrànies (2024), exhibited across Italy, France, and Spain. These works challenge audiences to hear the beauty in what we throw away and imagine a more sustainable world.

Rocco has also developed a guiding concept framework for all his projects, called SCRAP – Sound Creative Reuse Art Projects, which serves as the foundation for his work in turning waste into instruments, installations, and immersive sound experiences. Take a look here!