Many of the water-based recordings we receive are beauty-based, calling to mind vacations by the sea, meditations by the river, the sweetness of summer rain. Christina Kubisch & Eckehard Güther‘s Unter Grund is different: historical, political and metaphorical, it prompts the listener into larger modes of thought.

The original presentation was a 26-channel installation, and we’re intensely jealous of those who were able to check it out.  The CD version is an intricate soundscape of water movement in the Ruhr area, recorded above and below ground, in spouts and pipes, pumps and ponds.  The expanded recording area paints a fuller picture of water flow than one might receive from the personal experience of water from faucets and shower heads, heaters and drains.  Where does the water come from?  Where does it go?  Is it clean?  Few people ask such questions, content to trust that what enters their homes must be…