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"... Massively talented Michael Berk, with
a percussive, driving set of tunes played with his quite unique
combination of flat-picking and fingerstyle - a wonderfully irreverant,
thrashy version of Amazing Grace, his own extraordinary nervous
tension and some cheesy stuff by request." "His background is in heavy metal and flamenco,
his current sound blending Celtic sounds and modern acoustic techniques
with helpings of bottleneck and flawless fingerpicking" "The lone man and his music could fill a
stadium with sound. Acknowledging this, he is one of a VERY small
elite. The spectrum of sounds that radiate from his instrument are
so full and vibrant that much like a fine claret, there is simply
no need to complicate. Most excitingly of all, he, like claret,
will only improve with age." "Some of the craziest acoustic guitar playing
i've ever seen... The man has such quick fingers that just as you
thought you knew the tune he was playing he'd plough into something
else. This was a guitarist you couldn't take your eyes off." "Michael Berk can safely be called a guitar
virtuoso with a fingerstyle wizardry and intricate compositions
that left an open-jawed audience mesmerised." "The most exciting exponent of acoustic guitar
on the live scene… not for the faint of heart!" "Michael performs a stunning set of guitar
virtuosity, exploiting the guitar as a percussive instrument"
"Michael Berk has created his own unique
style which is very absorbing, artistic and percussive" "Finger pluckin' good" "… one of the most exalting guitarists
I've heard in a long time… A virtuoso in any field who has
still to reach his peak. Highly recommended!" "London fingerstyle guitarist Michael Berk
has already been compared to the likes of Michael Hedges, Adrian
Legg and Preston Reed and the intricate compositions on his debut
CD "Organized Chaos" certainly invite comparisons with
these masters… The unpredictability of these compositions is
also a strength- the music keeps your attention and offers a sense
of fullness of expression… Michael Berk is an acoustic guitarist
on the rise." "Mr. Berk deserves all the praise he gets."
"I've never seen or heard anything quite
like this! How does he do it? The crowd went ecstatic as he went
into his very own version of the old traditional folk song Cottonfields.
Never in my life could I have envisaged that it could sound like
this!" "If you are a fan of great guitar music,
then why not get down to see Michael Berk." "It's feel good music and without doubt everybody
does feel good after witnessing such showmanship." "The greatest thing about it is that you don't have to play guitar to truly appreciate his brilliance. Any old fool can see just how much skill the man must possess to play at that speed and create THAT sound. This is fast paced- in your face acoustic roll and roll." Wigan Music Collective "Michael Berk produces some amazing sounds
from an acoustic guitar. This is because his idea of playing is
not solely confined to what he can produce using the strings. So
the body is tapped, wacked ,twanged, and gently abused to provide
the rhythm for some bottle-neck playing and general dextrous plucking.
As well as Michael's own tunes, there's a gently version of 'No
Woman No Cry' and an evangelical segment towards the end of his
set which takes in instrumental parts of 'Halellujah' and 'Amazing
Grace'. A virtuoso but an exciting one at that." "Excellent and truly
original... and I like original musicians" "You scare the shit out of me. I'm
going to go home and practice!" |
