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Tectonic

by SIMON BERZ

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1.
Deep Time 06:46
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2.
Cementation 02:16
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3.
Lithification  04:15
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4.
Awan Panas 04:12
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5.
Hiatus 02:02
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6.
Oshima ∞ 03:56
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7.
Emergent Terrain 07:46
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8.
Diferensiasi Gravitasi 02:35
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9.
Turbidite 05:13
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about

“Tectonic” is a concise portrait of SIMON BERZ’s geological sound explorations across continents over the last 15 years: drums, electronics, and a set of electronically manipulated basalt stones from Iceland.

SIMON BERZ is a transdisciplinary drummer, sound artist, and music educator based in Switzerland and Berlin. Working at the intersection of improvised music, sound art, and performance, and deliberately crossing boundaries between disciplines, his aesthetics are shaped by a sustained engagement with natural materials, particularly stone, and their sonic transformation through electronic manipulation. Beyond his performance work, BERZ founded BADABUM as an art label and a music school.
For the last 30 years, BERZ has been performing in Japan, China, Russia, the USA, Cuba, Iceland, Turkey, and across Europe. He has collaborated with artists including BILL LASWELL, BABY SOMMER, DAMO SUZUKI (CAN), JAMES TURRELL, JIMI TENOR, JOHN SINGLAIR, JOJO MAYER (NERVE), KONDO TOSHINORI, KIDD JORDAN, LAUREN NEWTON, LEE “SCRATCH“ PERRY, MAURO PAWLOWSKI (dEUS), NILS PETTER MOLVÆR, NIKI GLASPIE, NORBERT MÖSLANG, PAUL LOWENS, PFADFINDEREI, ROB MAZUREK, SKÚLI SVERRISSON, and he was the live drummer for APPARAT. As BERZ understands artistic practice as energy emerging from nature and through dialogue with people, his recorded output is intentionally selective, with one highlight being “Beats versus Breath” with KONDO and LASWELL (2023). Alongside a regular drumkit and electronics, he has developed his own instruments such as the “Lithophon” in which resonating stones are turned into amplified sound through water drops, and “Tectonic”, a set of Icelandic basalt stones shaped through electronic manipulation. These self-built instruments form the material basis for his performances, installations, and sound recordings.
“Tectonic” is also the title of BERZ’s latest work: a summary of his geological sound explorations across continents. From Iceland to Indonesia and Bali, from New Orleans to China, in caves and at shores, BERZ carried his millions-of-years-old basalt stones as both instrument and collaborator. On Java, he met Baron, a builder of stone gamelan instruments. At the Pacitan Tabuhan Cave (Indonesia) he performed with MISBACH BILOK and WUKIR SURYADI (SENYAWA) who work with corals as instruments. BERZ brought these encounters and “field recordings” to the Stöðvarfjörður studio in Iceland, where he recorded with his “Tectonic” set-up, drums, and electronics. The music was later mixed in Berlin by DIRK DRESSELHAUS (SCHNEIDER TM).
The resulting album moves from club-driven tracks to ambient passages, from gamelan-inspired textures to HipHop-like beat patterns. It resists easy categorization while staying direct and physical in its impact.

credits

released March 27, 2026

Credits:

Simon Berz: Drums, 5 Icelandic Basalt stones, ROCKING DESK: D.I.Y Instruments & Electronics, Field recordings
All tracks composed & performed by Simon Berz
Recorded by Vinnie Wood at Silo Recording Studios Stöðvarfjörður / Iceland, May 2025
Tracks B1, B4: Phyllit slide stones, electronics recorded on Izu Oshima / Japan
Tracks A1, B2: D.I.Y Instruments, corals recorded at the Pacitan Tabuhan Cave / Java with guest performers Misbach Bilok, Wukir Suryadi
Field recordings from Izu Oshima / Japan, Pacitan / Indonesia, Kjalvegur / Iceland, Arnarstapi / Iceland

Mixed by Dirk Dresselhaus at ZONE, Berlin, Oct. - Nov. 2025
Mastering & lacquer cut by Helmut Erler, mastering.heyrec.org, Berlin, Nov. 2025

All photography by Andi Hofmann
Layout & design by kaidoh

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Karlrecords Berlin, Germany

Founded in 2007, Karlrecords is a 100% independent and self-financed label for experimental artists from the leftfield of experimental / electronic / electro-acoustic / contemporary music where the musical artistry counts as much as the aesthetic presentation. ... more

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