With Sounds of Slowing Down, Shanna Sordahl and Robert Lopez (the duo known as SO AR) spotlight the radical act of slowing down in a culture that demands efficiency and continual production. Centering a process-based approach, the project combines music improvisation with intentional movement and engagement with local environments. Alongside collaborators Kevin Robinson, Aaron Oppenheim, and Voicehandler (Danishta Rivero and Jacob Heule), Lopez and Sordahl are implementing an immersive creative process in which they will traverse the Bay Area via bike, foot, and public transit, performing in intimate outdoor spaces. This show at The Lab shares this experiential framework with the audience, blending live performance with video and audio recordings from the collection of outdoor performances. 

Emphasizing reflection and intentional interactions, the project activates possibilities for celebrating and sharing culture while exploringways of manifesting sustainable and equitable solutions to the constraints of capitalism.By incorporating concepts of slowing down into their artistic process, the artists seek to demonstrate the power this presents as a palpable alternative to oppressive, unhealthy, and widely accepted societal norms. Cycling and walking function not only as modes of transportation, but as catalysts for connection, reflection, and resilience – a form of tuning and transformation