• The series promoted by Sono·lab, the sound research laboratory of València Innovation Capital, of the València City Council, returns to Las Naves on September 25 at 7:15 PM with a special edition that will bring together López himself and the Irish audiovisual artist Barbara Ellison

The twenty-fifth edition of Super·lab will mark the return of the series to Las Naves after the summer with a session specifically linked to Super·Sonic: Francisco López Collection of Experimental Music and Audio Art, installed at Las Naves since 2023. The event, with free admission until full capacity is reached, will feature the participation of Francisco López, creator, owner, and instigator of this collection and one of the Spanish figures with the greatest international profile in the field of experimental music and audio art.

The evening will open with a proposal by the Irish audiovisual artist Barbara Ellison, focused on perceptual ambiguity and the phantasmatic, followed by one of Francisco López’s characteristic deep listening experiences, in which the audience, blindfolded and using a quadraphonic sound system, will enter a sound environment built from recordings made by the artist over decades.

“Sound innovation represents a meeting point between technology, creativity, and new ways of experiencing contemporary culture. From València Innovation Capital, we are committed to creating spaces that connect these disciplines with the public and, at the same time, to positioning València within the international circuits of innovation and contemporary creation. The 25th edition of Super·lab reflects precisely this vocation to connect the talent and experimentation generated in the city with international proposals and leaders,” says Paula Llobet, Councilor for Innovation at València City Council.

A special edition to celebrate the Super·Sonic collection

Super·lab thus begins a new season closely linked to Super·Sonic: Francisco López Collection of Experimental Music and Audio Art, the sound archive that brings together a fundamental part of the heritage of contemporary experimental sound creation and which can be consulted both online and in person.

The celebration of this edition represents a special occasion to highlight the relationship between the series and the collection, which, through Sono·lab, creates a meeting space for artists, creators, researchers, and the public around the most experimental sound practices.

Barbara Ellison: Spectral Presences

Audiovisual artist Barbara Ellison will kick off the evening with a performance centered on the perceptually ambiguous and the phantasmal, in which voices, sounds, images, and materials are transformed into spectral presences.

His work explores sound, movement, and visual expression from an interdisciplinary perspective, creating immersive experiences that combine different forms of expression and transport the audience to worlds inspired by science fiction.

His notable works include the critically acclaimed album *CyberSongs*, the three-hour immersive production *CyberOpera*, and the audiovisual work *Loop’n’Groove*—projects in which sound and image merge to create immersive and extraordinary experiences.

Francisco López: A Radical Immersion in Listening

Following Barbara Ellison’s performance, Francisco López will present one of his experiences of radical immersion in deep listening. The artist proposes immersing oneself in the essence of sound as a transformative experience, eliminating the usual visual and spatial references to place listening at the center of the experience.

With a career spanning more than four decades, López is one of the most relevant figures on the international experimental music and audio art scene. His work encompasses field recordings, performances, and installations that transform space into a sensory environment, and he has presented hundreds of sound installations and concert-performances in around seventy countries, in concert halls, festivals, galleries, and museums.

His work has been heard and experienced at institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, PS1 in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, and the Reina Sofía Museum, among many other internationally renowned venues.

For this event, López will create an acoustic environment using recordings made over the course of decades in various locations around the world. This audio material does not seek to describe places or landscapes, but rather to generate new spaces that can be experienced through listening.

The audience will participate in an experience in which, blindfolded and surrounded by a quadraphonic sound system, familiar points of reference disappear and each person constructs their own perceptual journey.

Sono·lab, a space for sound experimentation

With Super·lab 25, Sono·lab continues its commitment to creating a permanent space in Valencia for sound creation, research, and experimentation, connecting the local scene with internationally renowned artists and projects.

The series is part of the València City Council’s València Music City strategy and contributes to reinforcing the city’s role as a space for contemporary sound creation and the intersection of art, technology, and cultural innovation.