It would be presumptuous for me to call Günther Berkus a friend, but he was sometimes a collaborator (in live improvisations) and our paths crossed regularly. On meeting we'd talked passionately about various music technologies. Indeed, for several years our techniques ran in parallel, for example our explorations of Max/MSP.
When Berkus (as he preferred to be called) began work using the voice of W.S. Burroughs (released in 2014 as Pay Back Your Stolen Colours), I referred back to my own generative exercises using Burroughs texts, conducted in the nineties. And by coincidence I was simultaneously revisiting the voice as sonic material for The Absence of Baudrillard. In such ways our interests threaded.
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| Berkus at Sonic Vigil 8, St. Anne's Church, Shandon, Cork, 3 May 2014 |
He and I both posted to Soundcloud, Berkus using the moniker Cork City Gamelan. I was always happy to see his encouraging comments on my own tracks. Indeed, since his passing I've seen less reason to use that platform, an effect I only just noticed while writing this tribute.
Berkus maintained an active blog, The Cork City Gamelon (great concept!). This contains fifty posts, written between June 2011 and September 2015. He used this platform to promote his musical activities, but I propose that this was secondary to two other aims. First, to share sonic components that others could use, as an echo of his own ongoing collaborations. Second, to encourage those with diabilities to make music, empowered by technology.
The first goal is explicit on the Disclaimer page. This contains a Creative Commons license for all samples on the website, alongside a statement that allows readers to "freely use them in your own work" (so long as credit is maintained).
The second goal is encompassed by the statement "I have made it a major concern of mine to encourage and promote music making for people with disabilities." This was inspired by his discovery of the music of Evelyn Glennie, and his subsequent conversation with her.
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| Berkus at Days On End Festival, TACTIC Space, Cork, 11-12 February 2012 |
I was happy to see Berkus contribute to the convocations of the Irish Science, Sound and Technology Association (ISSTA). My interest was not just as a board member... I always loved to hear what he would do next. At the ISSTA 2017 gathering in Dundalk he collaborated with fellow improviser Alison "Little" Forbes on the installation Evolution. An excerpt was mastered for Tides: An ISSTA Anthology (2021) and the anthology was dedicated to his memory.
Several times Berkus and I shared in group improvisations, from whence the photos here are sourced. He was most expert at playing the Waterphone. In homage, I'm now embarking on a series of pieces using these sounds as source material. I'll be using the Monome Norns, a brand new piece of hardware (to me, anyway) that packages a Raspberry Pi with audio interface and a standardised interface. A loyal community creates scripts in Lua code that leverage the SuperCollider audio engine. Berkus would approve of such a mashup of community culture and cutting-edge tech, I am sure.
Gunther lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) for decades and died on 11 September 2020 at age 69. This Saturday, 7 September 2024, a group of friends and associates will gather to commemorate his life. Join Danny Mc Carthy, Tony Langlois, Little, Colm Clarken, Roger Gregg, and myself at 8pm at Plugd Records in Cork. The 10 Euro door goes to MS Ireland. If you can't attend, consider a donation anyway.
As Gunther was fond of posting a Drone of the Week, I will do likewise. Here's a brand new piece, created as a study for Saturday's performance. It's on Soundcloud... naturally.
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