Music and running have always gone together and now Roark, the travel-inspired apparel brand rooted in surf, adventure and storytelling, and musician Matt Costa have played into that with the launch of Sonic Nomads, a 32-minute music track created specifically for running.
The musical release complements Roark’s recently launched Sonic Nomads collection, an extension of the brand’s men’s run and active apparel line, with an audio experience designed to accompany runners throughout their run.

Created in partnership with Costa and EOSAS, an experiential sound collective founded by Costa, Sonic Nomads combines intentional pacing, analog frequencies and modular synthesis. Tested by members of the Roark team, the track moves from 126 to 150 beats per minute, creating a progression that carries runners from warm-up through cool-down.

“We created Sonic Nomads from a dry lake bed out in Joshua Tree, with synthesizers and guitar blasting from the back of a van as Roark runners kicked up dust around us,” explains Matt Costa. “We took those live desert ideas into the studio and shaped them into a 32-minute sonic journey for running.

“I practice meditation and have worked a lot with binaural frequencies, so we infused the track with 6 Hz theta waves to help connect the body and brain and encourage focus and flow,” he adds. “It sounds trippy, but it’s really just music meeting science.”

With Sonic Nomads, Roark and EOSAS are taking music beyond the traditional campaign soundtrack, creating an original, standalone track designed specifically around the experience of running. The project marks a new chapter for Roark, expanding the brand’s storytelling into an original music release.

“Rhythm is an essential component to running and Matt discovering that your heart rate can sync with the BPM of a song was mindblowing. The idea really resonated with us, and we felt the project would be a natural way to complement the Sonic Nomads collection,” says Ryan Hitzel, founder of Roark. “We’re always looking for ways to tell stories beyond the product, and creating something that could actually become part of the running experience felt like a really exciting direction for Roark. Being able to bring people together through running and give back to the community makes the project even more meaningful.”

The project also gives back to the running community and the places where runners move. All streaming royalties generated by the track will be donated to Runners for Public Lands, supporting the nonprofit’s work to protect public lands and build a community of runners who advocate for the places where they run.