Common Metals by Staubitz and Waterhouse

Common Metals is the first full length album by the dynamic duo of Mary Staubitz and Russ Waterhouse, after their debut single on Gertrude Tapes, a slew of Bandcamp releases, and various contributions to compilations, split CDRs, and collaborative projects. This new album finds them ruminating on various topics during the deep pandemic of early 2021 - exploitative labor practices, the machinations of late Capitalism, the unyielding nature of nature, and the need for self-medication. Mary and Russ were both "essential workers" during this period of time, not due to choice but necessity.

Although Common Metals comprises largely unedited field recordings, it has less to do with Irv Teibel's placating Environments series than it does with the observational slow cinema of Abbas Kiarostami, or the patient compositions of Éliane Radigue. Nearly two years into the pandemic not much has changed. Staubitz and Waterhouse ask: What value does art have when the world is burning? If the listener perceives their own experience in these recordings, the answer is - a connection.

- Barrett Clark, Record Producer


Mary Staubitz (Donna Parker) and Russ Waterhouse (ex Blues Control) met in May of 2019 and started making music together almost immediately. They produce field recordings and play found objects and synthesizer.

Independent of each other, Mary and Russ have performed at festivals and venues such as Lincoln Center, High Zero, Cropped Out, and Bach to the Future; and have released music on labels like Twisted Village, Drag City, RRR, Open Mouth, Qbico, and White Tapes.

Mary Staubitz and Russ Waterhouse

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