Justin Peake git, b, efx
Simon Berz dr, efx

PEAKE BERZ SIDEBAR 2017

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Drums and Soundart

Simon Berz is a drummer and sound artist. He is strongly engaged in the development of his own instruments and the possibilities of the drums with the use of electronics.
In his research of sound, he makes use of analog electronics and feedbacks. Besides an electrified drum set, he also works intensely with stones, amplifying and distorting their natural sound electronically.
As a drummer/electronic musician, Simon Berz has toured solo and with other musicians throughout Japan, China, Cuba, Iceland, the US, Russia and Europe. He played with Skúli Sverrisson, Rob Mazurek, Kirk Joseph, Jason Marsalis, Mars Williams, Bettina Boller, Mauro Pawlowski (dEUS), Lee “Scratch“ Perry, Niels Petter Molvear, Damo Suzuki (CAN), Jojo Mayer, Jimi Tenor, Apparat, James Turell, Hans Koch, Johanna Borchert, Paul Lowens... With Dutch electronic musician and artist toktek, he formed the band FELL, with whom he toured extensively and released
records on the Swiss label Hula Honeys mixed by Roli Mosimann.

Simon Berz is a drummer and sound artist. Sins several years he develops his own instruments and searches for new possibilities of working with the drum set and percussion. He worked intensly on creating an electrified drumset, using analog electronics and feedbacks, as well as an amplified lithophon, built with stones he found in the Alps.
Simon is also the initiator of the artist platform  and transdiscilinary musicscool BADABUM. Taking improvised music as a basis, the label brings together different artforms, from film and dance to performance and fine arts. Since it was founded in 2001, BADABUM has served as a platform for more than 100 musicians and artists from all over the world.
As a drummer and electronic musician, Simon Berz has toured solo and in different formations through Europe, USA, Japan and China. He creates music and soundscapes for theatre and film and recently composed and conducted a soundtrack to the silent film Metropolis for screenings in Switzerland and China.

Lithophon
When Swiss drummer and sound artist Simon Berz rode his bike across a field of stone in the French Alps, he was immediately taken by the sounds the stones produced. He took some of them home to create a lithophon, which he then amplified and manipulated with electronic effects. As he scratches and strokes them or uses different sticks and materials to hit them percussively, he creates a dense and unique performance. For installation purposes, he lets water drop from infusion bags in various speeds, creating a complex and meditative sound piece.