Video Release: TECTONIC Live at UrBANGUILD Kyoto
TECTONIC Performance
Simon Berz – Basalt Stones, Electronics
Kazuya Matsumoto – Percussion
Visual Design: Lilu Herlambang
Recorded November 27, 2024
UrBANGUILD, Kyoto, Japan
Part of TECTONIC Japan Tour 2024
November 14 – December 20, 2024
Technical Production
Sound: UrBANGUILD Sound Team
Special Thanks to:
January 25 1pm – 6pm BADABUM Atelier Zug,
(I will present some Japan Impressions)
26. January 2025 SIMONS DAY
LISTENING CAFE BADABUM Atelier Zug 2-6
I will play some music I love during my birthday and serve
some food and drinks for all my friends.
January 28 8pm THE INSTITUT Zürich Misterioso Jazz Club
its my birthday show… pleas celebrate with some extra sounds the new year.
Simon Berz TECTONIC (Stones D.I.Y., elec)
Picnic: Sean Noonan (dr, voc), Norbert Bürger (g) & Lino Blöchlinger (as, bs, fl)
31. Jan. 2025 Fr., 20:00 Exploratorium Berlin Sound&Lecture No. 25
April 26, 2025 2pm Gallery BILLING BILL Baar Switzerland Opening Reception Simon Berz IMPROSITIONS
Performance Simon Berz Solo
April 27, 2025 2:30 pm
Gallery BILLING BILL Baar Switzerland ARTIST TALK with Bettina Boller & Simon Berz
PERFORMANCE 4pm
Bettina Boller – Violin
Simon Berz – Basalt Stones & Electronics
In 2014, during an artist residency at Moods Jazz Club in Zurich, Bettina Boller and Simon Berz created a unique musical dialogue between ancient elements. A 200-million-year-old stone met Bettina’s precious violin from the 17th century in an extraordinary improvisation. This encounter bridged vast spans of time through sound, bringing together geological history with centuries of musical craftsmanship in a contemporary experimental performance.
June 15, 2025 2pm
Closing Event Gallery BILLING BILL Baar Switzerland Beat Unternährer Alphorn Electronics
Simon Berz TECTONIC Basalt Stones Electronics Ink Paper Simon Berz’s IMPROSITIONS is interpreted by alphorn player Beat Unternährer in a performance. Berz plays on basalt stones (TECTONIC), while Unternährer pulls an endless paper over the stones and translates the resulting notations into alphorn sounds and electronic textures. The encounter between natural instrument and sound art leads to a dialogue between tradition and experiment. The performance is based on Berz’s concept of IMPROSITIONS, which Unternährer implements with his alphorn playing technique. The resulting notations serve as a basis for improvisation and create a musical connection between stone, horn and electronics.
Mai 23 Visarte Schweiz Salzhaus Brugg
STONES & SCREANS Timo Ullmann Simon Berz Visarte Schweiz
August 10-17 www.combination.space Dangio Torre Ticino Switzerland >KOMBINAT<
September 17 BERLIN SOLO IMPRO Birgit Ulher – trumpet, sound installation
Guilherme Rodriguez – cello
Simon Berz – drums, electronics
Leila Martial – vocals
Aki Takase – piano
Mo 27.10.- Fr 28.11.2025 A.I.R. Heuerberg Switzerland
Marie-Cécile Reber – Electronics and Composition Marie-Cécile Reber (* 1962) is a Swiss composer and sound artist in the fields of Deep Listening and Field Recording. (from Wikipedia) Marie-Cécile is particularly focused on her yearly work „Energy and Vibration“.Marie-Cécile’s Artist Statement on her website: https://mc-reber.ch/about-me/artist-statement/
Katrin Vogel – Alphorn and Other Horns, Composition Katrin Vogel is an experienced horn player with many years of orchestra experience, including as a soloist. Since 2006, however, Katrin has been passionate about the alphorn and explores this instrument far beyond its traditional bounds. This is her new passion which she also wants to pursue at Heuerberg. Katrin’s Statement on her website: https://katrinvogel-alphorn.de/zur-person/
Simon Berz – Percussion/Drums, Composition Simon Rainer Berz (* January 26, 1967 in Baden AG) is a Swiss drummer and experimental sound artist. (from Wikipedia). As percussion instruments, Simon uses anything possible, or rather everything is possible, often in combination with electronics. Simon’s Statement on his website: https://simonberz.ch/infos/cv/
Dezember 2025 MEIN BLAU Aktionsraum Berlin Prenzlauer Berg
Simon Berz Solo Exhipition
IMPROSITIONS
Simon Berz improvised with found slate stones during morning rituals in the Swiss Alps during the pandemic. The recording NATURE documents the search for the infinite variety of sounds of these million-year-old stones.
The Sound of the Stones
In 2009, I found thin, ringing slate slabs in Haute-Provence in the south of France. This discovery led me to a new path in my work with found objects. The raw sound of the stones, combined with water droplets or electronics, has accompanied me ever since. The sound installation TROPF was awarded the 2011 work year of the Canton of Zug. Last year, I was able to present the new variant of the installation at Kunstraum Aarau 2023. The collected recording TROPF was released by DUMPF Edition Zurich. With the instrument TECTONIC (basalt stones from Iceland and electronics, 2015), I toured and performed concerts between Cuba and Japan.
Other new releases:
Our music is driven by the ongoing global disaster, expressing the last moments of human failure – a call to action for solidarity, for social and ecological responsibility
