Water is increasingly becoming one of the world's most valuable resources. In many countries today, especially a dry one such as Australia, access to sufficient non-polluted water is at a premium. The delicate ecological balance of Australia has been under threat since white settlers introduced the use of European agrarian methods over 200 years ago. Australia is in the midst of a drought that has continued for over 8 years. All cities are under strict water restrictions at all times.

In a northern Melbourne suburb empty milk cartons float in buckets which collect rainwater from a sloping tin roof. With the easing of a heavy summer downpour the cartons become acoustic hollow cylinders that operate like percussive instruments. Passing cars and trucks from the nearby road provide a low irregular bass which grows in volume as the storm passes. The naturally and unnaturally occurring sounds create their own cyclical rhythm and metre and constitute a form of aural pattern-making.