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GIDEON BERGER

Artist, curator, creative practitioner, and music producer Gideon Berger is founder of Gideon Berger Studio, a company established to deliver his solo work. Gideon is also co-founder, director, and musical curator of Block9, a creative partnership established in 2007 annually presenting large scale installations, “temporary alternative realities”, including numerous late-night attractions at Glastonbury, the world’s largest greenfield festival.
 
Recent projects have seen Gideon head up Creative Direction for Dua Lipa’s record breaking Studio 2054, winning the MVA’s Music Video of The Year award. He was production designer for lead artists at Live at Worthy Farm, Glastonbury’s virtual festival livestream. Other collaborations include projects with Banksy, Imperial War Museum, Finnish Opera House, Hercules & Love Affair, Lana Del Ray, Skrillex, Brian Eno, Roisin Murphy, The Blessed Madonna, Honey Dijon, Anohni and Jorja Smith.
 
Gideon is also founder and label boss at Homo-Centric Records, a label set up to showcase his own productions and to amplify the creative contributions of queer artists working in underground dance music. The label aims to highlight the LGBTQ+ heritage of House Music and its manifesto states its intent to “re-establish the lines of queer musical tradition in House Music, lost to the dual epidemics of AIDS and the capitalist desecration of dance music itself.”.
 
Gideon has a background in music spanning 30 years. In addition to his practice as an artist, stage designer and curator, he is a touring DJ and is an avid collector of vinyl records. He has a degree in Music with Visual Practice (BA Hons) and is currently guest Creative Director of Music for London Borough of Culture 2022.
 
Since his first set of turntables in 1990, Gideon has devoted his life to collecting vinyl from the US, Jamaica, Latin America, Africa, and the UK. He specialises in Northern Soul, Latin, Reggae, Gospel and Disco rarities. House Music, above all, is his first and greatest love.
 
As a DJ, he has been actively involved in radio for many years. After cutting his teeth on London’s pirate stations in the late nineties, he now hosts a regular show on Soho Radio. He is frequent guest on London’s Rinse FM and has recently contributed to both BBC Radio One, NTS and BBC 6 Music.
 
Gideon curates Block9’s festival nightlife institutions NYC Downlow, Genosys, Maceo’s and IICON and is also resident and co-booker at London’s hottest queer club night Adonis. He is a resident DJ at NYC Downlow and The Blessed Madonna’s “We Still Believe” and is regular at Berghain’s Panorama Bar, Lab.Oratory & Garten. He was also often invited to play at Kyiv’s ∄ club before the Russian invasion.
 
As an activist, he has been involved with charitable work and political action for over three decades and is increasingly organising his own hybrid projects primarily partnering music and protest. Under the banner of R3 Soundsystem, Gideon, alongside Love Music Hate Racism has organised major sound system interventions at many national demonstrations including the Stop Brexit, Stop Trump, and Anti-Fascist protests. He is actively involved with fundraising for several LGBT+, human rights and social justice organisations including AllOut, Prepster, Human Dignity Trust and Refugee Community Kitchen. Gideon sits on the advisory committee of The Right To Dance, part of War Child’s NGO Network.

I worked with Hercules & Love Affair and Anohni on the creative development of a graphic identity for their In Amber project. After an extensive R&D period we settled on an approach. As art director I headed up a team of digital artists and studios to create a series of still and moving images for the forthcoming series of releases. Working with Mike Wilson and Kristin Oldershaw we created a series of digital landscapes and sculpted a standing stone loosely modelled on a 3D scan of an ancient pagan standing stone in the Scottish Highlands. The shroud was then built and animated independently. We used Cinema 4D, Redshift , Marvellous Designer, Houdini, After Effects. In addition to to art direction I also acted in a consulting capacity for album remixes. I worked on the graphic design with deliciously talented Martin Perry @martinperrydesigns and Ben Tousley @wilkerton . One of my proposed remix collaborations with Pangaea @pangaea_dj came into fruition.****

I was invited by lead artist Stephanie Singer to collaborate and consult on her project Violet Disruption at the Finnish Opera House in Helsinki. The project had an early R&D period with the Royal Opera House, National Ballet of Canada, to develop a 5-minute pilot experience and subsequently I was invited to join the creative team shortly after. I have worked to develop many aspects of the project with Steph since the project was awarded an Opera Beyond prize in November 2021. The show premieres in Finland on 25th November 2022.

I was both composer and creative director for the MAN[or]GOD production, choreographed by Joy Alpuerto Ritter & Akram Khan. I was scoring for the contemporary dance piece featuring Mavin Khoo , the lead dancer and subject. The show and subsequently the score explored the space between spirituality, dance and London’s nightlife underworld of the '90s. I had the privilege to with Palestinian classical violinist Akram Abdulfattah and Hariraam Tingyuan Lam , Nina Harries and vocalist Chitra Poornima Satish

A quote I gave for Resident Advisor reads:

Writing the music for MAN[or]GOD has taken me on journey that is linked both philosophically and geographically to the narrative it is in support of. The show explores the space between spirituality, dance and London’s nightlife underworld of the 90’s. Because I am in dual roles on this project, acting as both creative director and composer, it’s my job to interrogate and push the narrative as well as write the music that the storytelling is set to. The South Asian heritage of artistic director and lead dancer Mavin Khoo has been the central point of reference for this score and has enabled me to commission several insanely talented classical musicians to feature in the electronic music I’ve written. Ive found a wildly exciting sonic aesthetic somewhere between Malaysian Gamelan, Indian Classical, downstairs at Berghain on a Monday morning. As difficult as that sounds on paper it’s actually shaping up to be something I’m really proud of. The fact thats the whole thing takes place at the foot of a towering soundsystem gives us the power to go to tell this story with real clarity. Photos by @ambravernuccio

I am extremely honoured to be working on an R&D project with Shygirl touching on various aspects of her creative practice. The rise and rise of Shygirl is brilliant to see. Real London talent to be very proud of….I can’t wait for more of everything!

The first track released on the debut EP of HOMO-CENTRIC RECORDS @homo.centric imprint is a dedication to the late, great Aaron Carl, (1973-2010). The leading single “Aaron Carl Lives On” features Aaron’s iconic words and wisdom on the phenomenon of house music. Tracking down Mel (Aaron's partner who manages his estate) was a real detective mission. Despite many months of drawing complete blanks, I was finally introduced to Mel by @jeffreysfire , fellow Detroit queer royalty, and was given their blessing to release the track. Starting things off with the first single which is an homage to the unsung, underrated black queer champions of House music felt like exactly the right foot to be getting off on, in a world where the real history of House is of often whitewashed..

The label manifesto states its intent: “To re-establish the lines of queer musical tradition at the heart of House, lost to AIDS and the capitalist desecration of dance music itself. Homo-Centric both acknowledges and reveres the original LGBTQIA+, Black and Latin pioneers of House - their DNA permeates all subsequent journeys in the genre. Homo-Centric maintains that the original founders and champions of House must be recognised, named, and honoured.” Names like Ron Hardy, Frankie Knuckles, David Mancuso, Robert Owens , Mel Cheren, Tony Humphries , Larry Levan, Sylvester, Arthur Russel, Aaron Carl Robbie Tronco, Nicky Siano, Patrick Cowley, Junior Vazquez , Danny Tenaglia, Steve Fabus, Derrick Carter, The Carry Nation, Honey Dijon, and Kevin Aviance.

I am guest Creative Director for music at London Borough Of Culture 2022. I consulted and co-curated a musical programme to celebrate the year long cultural showcase in this central London borough. I conceived and curated a free soundsysyem event called D.Q.S.D. (Deptford Queer Soundsystem Day) to celebrate the roots of LGBTQI culture in the area. D.Q.S.D. celebrates queer sound system collectives and South London’s unique cultural heritage. The event featured music from Black Obsidian Sound System, OK Williams, Adonis DJs, Deptford Northern Soul Club, Hannah Holland, Dj Sugarbear and more.

The Mayor’s London Borough of Culture award brings Londoners together. It puts culture at the heart of local communities, where it belongs, illuminating the character and diversity of London’s boroughs and showing culture is for everyone.

D.Q.S.D was presented in partnership with R3 Soundsystem, Love Music Hate Racism, The Albany and We Are Lewisham and Shipwrights House and we raised over £4000 for @warchilduk ’s and @therighttodance work in Ukraine and Yemen.

I was both composer and creative director for the MAN[or]GOD production, choreographed by Joy Alpuerto Ritter & Akram Khan. I was scoring for the contemporary dance piece featuring Mavin Khoo , the lead dancer and subject. The show and subsequently the score explored the space between spirituality, dance and London’s nightlife underworld of the '90s. I had the privilege to with Palestinian classical violinist Akram Abdulfattah and Hariraam Tingyuan Lam , Nina Harries and vocalist Chitra Poornima Satish

A quote I gave for Resident Advisor reads:

Writing the music for MAN[or]GOD has taken me on journey that is linked both philosophically and geographically to the narrative it is in support of. The show explores the space between spirituality, dance and London’s nightlife underworld of the 90’s. Because I am in dual roles on this project, acting as both creative director and composer, it’s my job to interrogate and push the narrative as well as write the music that the storytelling is set to. The South Asian heritage of artistic director and lead dancer Mavin Khoo has been the central point of reference for this score and has enabled me to commission several insanely talented classical musicians to feature in the electronic music I’ve written. Ive found a wildly exciting sonic aesthetic somewhere between Malaysian Gamelan, Indian Classical, downstairs at Berghain on a Monday morning. As difficult as that sounds on paper it’s actually shaping up to be something I’m really proud of. The fact thats the whole thing takes place at the foot of a towering soundsystem gives us the power to go to tell this story with real clarity. Photos by @ambravernuccio

I was creative director and and set designer for Dua Lipa’s studio 2054. In my incarnation as director and co-founder of Block9 I headed up the creative team that designed and delivered Dua Lipa’s Studio 2054 livestream at Printworks in London. Wearing my Block9 hat I lead a small creative team Dan Cooper, Martin Perry, @ niece Jongsma to deliver set, stage design, graphic design and to art direct across the entire show. I cast and dressed an array of circus performers, club kids and roller-skaters to populate the show, providing costume, styling, hair and makeup with @circus @ shaymalt @Jacob Love @cocoa @bulgarian . @Dancooper. The best sidekick designer ever.

Studio 2054 broke world records by clocking up over 5 million views on its opening night. Labelled as “the best livestream of the year”, and “exceptionally well-staged” by The Telegraph’s music editor, he went on to say the show was ,“so slick it would have impressed Scorsese”.

We won Best Music Film 2021 at the UK Music Video Awards. Liz Clare, the director and Ceremony the Creative Producers and I worked closely together to pull this monster of a project off! Thank you to the inspirational vision and trust of Pete Abbott, the endlessly patient, creative brilliance (and one man army) behind the whole event.

I was both composer and creative director for the MAN[or]GOD production, choreographed by Joy Alpuerto Ritter & Akram Khan. I was scoring for the contemporary dance piece featuring Mavin Khoo , the lead dancer and subject. The show and subsequently the score explored the space between spirituality, dance and London’s nightlife underworld of the '90s. I had the privilege to with Palestinian classical violinist Akram Abdulfattah and Hariraam Tingyuan Lam , Nina Harries and vocalist Chitra Poornima Satish

A quote I gave for Resident Advisor reads:

Writing the music for MAN[or]GOD has taken me on journey that is linked both philosophically and geographically to the narrative it is in support of. The show explores the space between spirituality, dance and London’s nightlife underworld of the 90’s. Because I am in dual roles on this project, acting as both creative director and composer, it’s my job to interrogate and push the narrative as well as write the music that the storytelling is set to. The South Asian heritage of artistic director and lead dancer Mavin Khoo has been the central point of reference for this score and has enabled me to commission several insanely talented classical musicians to feature in the electronic music I’ve written. Ive found a wildly exciting sonic aesthetic somewhere between Malaysian Gamelan, Indian Classical, downstairs at Berghain on a Monday morning. As difficult as that sounds on paper it’s actually shaping up to be something I’m really proud of. The fact thats the whole thing takes place at the foot of a towering soundsystem gives us the power to go to tell this story with real clarity. Photos by @ambravernuccio

As guest creative director for music at London Borough Of Culture 2022 I consulted and co-curated a musical programme to celebrate the year long cultural showcase in this central London Borough. I conceived and curated a free sound sysyem event called D.Q.S.D. Deptford Queer Soundsystem Day to celebrate the roots of LGBTQI culture in the area. D.Q.S.D. celebrates queer sound system collectives and South London’s unique cultural heritage. The event featured music from Black Obsidian Sound System, Adonis DJs, OK Williams, Deptford Northern Soul Club and DJ Sugarbear.

The Mayor’s London Borough of Culture award brings Londoners together. It puts culture at the heart of local communities, where it belongs, illuminating the character and diversity of London’s boroughs and showing culture is for everyone.

D.Q.S.D. was presented in partnership with R3 Soundsystem, Love Music Hate Racism, The Albany, We Are Lewisham. Money was raised for War Child and Love Music Hate Racism.

I sit on the consulting committee of The Right To Dance, part of War Child’s NGO Network. TRTD is pioneering new fundraising platform from War Child that reframes the idea of a donation. Centred around a tiered subscription model, it is curated with regular label releases, events, editorial, merchandise and rewards, powered in partnership with the underground music community. This model enables donors to support a charity through their own passion, for creatives to contribute to a community- led fundraising movement, and for War Child to build loyal, long-lasting relationships with the underground music community based around shared values. There are some excellent fellow committee members and it’s a real pleasure to be on board. Thanks Sean O Daly.

As creative director for with Dua Lipa’s Studio 2054 project I undertook a significant creative development piece of work, working on the graphic identity for the project. Some of the work created for this R&D with MartIn Perry is shown here.

On 19th October 2019, the mobile R3 Stop Brexit Soundsystem hit the streets along with hundreds of thousands of people as part of the wider ‘Put It to the People March’ to demand a second referendum.

R3 Soundsystem is a consortium of DJs, musicians, producers, artists, crews, festivals, clubs, sound systems, activists, movements, cultural organisations and, above all, music lovers joining forces in resistance to the hijack of the British political system. We represent solidarity between all nations, races, tribes, genders, sexualities, faiths and musical tastes. We are together in music.

R3’s three R’s stand for:

RESIST: SECOND REFERENDUM NOW.
REJECT: KICK OUT THE TORIES NOW.
REVOLT: COME TOGETHER AGAINST THE POPULIST HIJACK OF BRITISH POLITICS.

One of the satellite projects for the larger Dua Lipa productions with I’ve worked on was a cute little NPR TinyDesk gig. I had 24 hours to pull together everything needed for the studio shoot. You might recognise the rug from my living room on the floor. :) Thanks to Pete Abbott for inviting me on board. Thanks for all your amazing creative collaboration Dan Cooper, the best sidekick designer ever.

This project was a collaboration done as part of my Block9 practice.Dua Lipa: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

The beautiful flyer for Berghain in Berlin lists the last time I played at the club. I have been lucky enough to DJ’s many at Panorama bar, The Laboratory and The Garten over the yeas and for that I am eternally grateful.

Whilst working with Block9 and the Birmingham Opera Company's production of Shostakovich’s opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtensk I designed a bunch of textiles for the lead cast member’s costume. In the opera, Lady Macbeth commits two murders with rat poison and by bludgeoning someone to death with a heavy object. This double homicide, it was decided had to be reflected in textile design. RIP Graham Vick. It was great working with Mark Murph (@mark_moif) to build these designs on Illustrator.

Dua Lipa approached Block9 to create her forthcoming show and bring new creative direction to the tour. I led the project focussing on evolving the stage show beyond a pop aesthetic to an edgier and slicker look. Our team created principal production concepts for the international arena tour. Producing and directing video content and overall creative direction. I worked in partnership with the choreography, lighting design and costume departments to deliver a world class stage show.

I was creative director for the Dua Lipa Studio2054 livestream which won Best Music Film 2021 at the UK Music Video Awards. Liz Clare, the director and Ceremony the Creative Producers and I worked closely together to pull this monster of a project off! Thank you to the inspirational vision and trust of Pete Abbott, the endlessly patient, creative brilliance (and one man army) behind the whole event.

Judge Dread Illustrations - I undertook a significant creative development project exploring physical incarnations of classic graphic novels. Here are several illustrations of the results of this work. Thanks to Dan Cooper and brilliant illustrator Marie Walker Smith for bringing the visions to life.

R3 Soundsystem is a consortium of DJs, musicians, producers, recording artists, record labels, festivals, nightclubs, sound systems, activists, movements and cultural organisations, all united in our love of music and our rejection of right-wing nationalism.
 
R3’s three Rs stand for RESIST / REJECT / REVOLT.
 
Gideon Berger Studio is the founding member of R3 Soundsystem.

London’s radical protest + music collective presented an all-star line-up of underground DJ’s to raise emergency funds for the emergency in Ukraine. On Friday 11 March 2022, we hosted 9 hours of back-to back music across two rooms at venue MOT, on a South London industrial estate in. As part of the fundraiser, we raised £26,000 destined for aid, refugee assistance and evacuations.
 
Donations went to Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft (Alliance for Development Help), Fulcrum UA & All Out to provide humanitarian help on the ground, and support people in Ukraine and refugees in the neighbouring countries that they are fleeing to.
 
We stand against the Tory government’s right-wing ties to Russian business interests, its corrupt cronyism and its stance on asylum seekers. We are also encouraging supporters to contact their MPs to demand action now, and to stand against the unjust invasion of Ukraine.
 
Soho Radio & Love Music Hate Racism in London joins hands in solidarity with this cause and will be broadcasting live on the night of the event.
 
DJs on the night were Hot Chip (DJ set) / The Blessed Madonna / Midland / Roisin Murphy / Dance System / Gideön / Shay Malt / Hannah Holland / Dan Beaumont / Nyra / Helena Star / Craig Richards/ Chapter 10 x Adonis / Horse Meat Disco / Helena Star / Dan Beaumont

I am guest Creative Director for music at London Borough Of Culture 2022. I consulted and co-curated a musical programme to celebrate the year long cultural showcase in this central London borough. I conceived and curated a free soundsysyem event called D.Q.S.D. (Deptford Queer Soundsystem Day) to celebrate the roots of LGBTQI culture in the area. D.Q.S.D. celebrates queer sound system collectives and South London’s unique cultural heritage. The event featured music from Black Obsidian Sound System, OK Williams, Adonis DJs, Deptford Northern Soul Club, Hannah Holland, Dj Sugarbear and more.

The Mayor’s London Borough of Culture award brings Londoners together. It puts culture at the heart of local communities, where it belongs, illuminating the character and diversity of London’s boroughs and showing culture is for everyone.

D.Q.S.D was presented in partnership with R3 Soundsystem, Love Music Hate Racism, The Albany and We Are Lewisham and Shipwrights House and we raised over £4000 for @warchilduk ’s and @therighttodance work in Ukraine and Yemen.

I have been a long term partner of AllOut, fundraising and donating to fuel the fight for global LGBT+ equality. All Out is a global not-for-profit organisation that is focused on political advocacy for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/-sexual, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual/aromantic and all others in LGBTQIA+ communities.