If an alien came to Earth, what would it think a snare drum was for? Etienne Nillesen may appear to be such an alien life form when he exercises radical oblivion over one of our most worn-out percussion instruments, finding unimagined sonic possibilities in its simple sound body. By subjecting the snare drum to continuous friction rather than discrete blows, he conjures resonances and overtones that form a complex sonic universe. Between these frequencies, microtonal oscillations arise in turn, giving the sound mass a pulse – Nillesen thus delivers a norm-breaking percussion performance where rhythm only arises in the last resort, as a side effect of harmonic relationships.

In Pascal Niggenkemper's world, things are not as we are used to. When the double bass is rotated ninety degrees, lying on Niggenkemper's lap, a new closeness to this powerful sound object arises. Instead of equal-sized figures linked together in a kind of couple dance, musicians and instruments now appear clearly polarized; but will the relationship be intimate and caring or characterized by power versus helplessness? The only thing we can be sure of is that Pascal Niggenkemper's reversal of roles will give rise to sounds we have never heard before.