Bernto

From cutting mix tapes using two cassette decks, to tunes between whistles at hockey games off a Discman, or even pirating tunes off the radio as a youth, Bernto has been a purveyor of music from a young age. Once he got behind a set of turntables, there was no turning back… he found his medium to share his love.
Cutting his teeth on breaks, he’s fused together a unique, warm sound of bumpin’ bass driven music sprinkled with filthy, slutty funk and a hint of hip-hop samples that goes anywhere from 80 to 150 beats per minute. As he got older, his music knowledge exploded giving him a well-rounded, some would even call it a ‘plump’, taste in sounds. If it’s driving and has got a groove to it, nothing is off-limits… ‘don’t assume my genre’.
Over the 20 years he’s been behind the decks, his quick transitions and tight, technical layering created an unmatched energy that blessed him with the opportunity to open for the likes of Krafty Kuts, Meat Katie, Dub FX, Lee Coombs, A.Skillz, Gramatik, Fort Knox Five and Nick Thayer, just to name a few.
But still, his most memorable moments have come at Evolve while either rocking peaktime sets, or opening up the stage with back-to-back-to-back sets with his homies DVD & Skeemer on the Synergy stage for “the greatest Evolve Sunday”, or in the collection of odd stages at the festival over the years. His first set ever at Evolve was blasting vinyl out of the back of a U-Haul on a Saturday afternoon. A few years later, after the infamous thunderstorm that Johnny Sleep Dep created, his and NTB’s tag set on the main stage was canceled on Saturday night, so he ended up playing a solo, sunrise set on Sunday in the middle of the village surrounded on every side by people getting down. And probably his favorite moment was after GTFCKD destroyed that hot, sweaty Lazer Yurt on Sunday night which was supposed to close down the stage, there were 1000+ people just standing around not knowing what to do. So he and Dono stepped behind the decks for an off-the-cuff, three hour, 2-for-2, tag set that could never be recreated. If you were there, you know how special this was.
Recently, he’s explored the online scene streaming live sets on Twitch here and there. He’s also responsible for the Maritime Grime Mix Series with his boy Luc B. You can check out those sets on Soundcloud along with his own personal account. After spending the last decade or so on the west coast, bernto’s back baby! Keep your eyes (and maybe ears) peeled in the Sydney area for him.
One thing is glowingly apparent… the time or the place does not matter. He draws that elastic energy out of you. Just be prepared to bounce and move your feet at Relics… it’s going to be pandamonium