Petra Dubach, Mario van Horrik

*In process of stocking. 2022 stock. Limited edition of 200 copies. Includes a 24-page booklet.* I got to know Petra Dubach and Mario van Horrik in 2015 during the production of an LP by the Maciunas Ensemble, a band of which Mario has been a member since 1982. One of the cornerstones of my label from the beginning has been what German composer Hans Essel calls "Grundlagenmusik", a term that translates to "foundational music" (analogous to foundational science) and denotes endeavours that deal with the foundations of sound and music.

In order to make such music, one has to think like a scientist on the one hand,
like a composer on the other hand, but only seldomly like a musician. The scientist has to build a setup, carry out experiments and systematically document the findings. The composer has to evaluate the outcomes and decide where to go next because after all, some interesting sounds should emerge. When all works well, the musician may play a bit.

Quite a few experimental musicians leave out the scientist part, thereby restricting themselves to making compositions based upon what they already know, or to psychodynamic improvising. Both approaches may work, but may also lead to arbitrary results. Systematic exploration of exciting sound phenomena, though, makes it possible to appreciate musical forms that emerge from experiments, forms that could not have been composed because they were literally unimaginable. In order to hear what has not been heard before, a composer needs to become a scientist. This dichotomy is a thread that runs through much of Petra's and Mario's work, epitomized in the Waves project. It is what makes Waves a unique endeavour among today's sound art.