Bersarin Quartett

It was the winter of 2011, and I was just about to wrap up my studies. Not having my degree finished, and not being skilled in any particularly useful way, it was a phase of life where I jumped at the chance to earn anything above the $20 per hour my cinema job could net me. This combination of circumstance led me to a remote country town, about 6 hours east of home, called Kalgoorlie. Famous in equal parts for a massive mining hole known as the super pit, the ratio of pubs to people, and its historically thriving prostitution scene. My role was to walk along a straight line, being guided by a hand-held GPS, and dig a small bit of dirt out of the ground and place it in a labelled packet. At some point, i would turn around and do this in the opposite direction, a few meters over. This is soil sampling - a technique of getting a grid layout understanding (after each packet was analysed) of what could possibly be under the ground. As I had a heartbeat, I was perfectly suited to be an offsider for the task.

This was the kind of job where you could make great friendships. As it required little concentration, you could have deep chats over the course of the day and week. I met a guy around my age, from the opposite side of Australia, named Chris. We hit it off, I think… though I can’t remember many discerning features about him. You see, our friendship only lasted for the soil sampling stint. We verbally planned that I would fly over to where he lived, in Canberra, and go on a snowboarding adventure. Shortly after returning home, I booked a flight to Sydney, and sent him a message to organise the next leg of travel. Perhaps a cosmic ray bit-flip meant he never got the message… or perhaps that is why I never got a reply?

Here I was with a plane ticket, and not much else. Getting to the mountains to snowboard was fairly involved, so i changed my plans and went to the Blue Mountains. I was quite fit at the time, as I was gearing up for a marathon, so I thought I would take advantage of that and go hiking instead. It turned out to be a great little trip, and one of the only times I have travelled on my own. There was one moment where I nearly had to recreate 127 hours (though I only had a plastic spork) but overall it was extremely pleasant and wholesome.

So what the hell has this got to do with Bersarin Quartett? Well, during my hiking, I listened to his first album - the one that has the absolutely arresting artwork. The music created a beautiful atmosphere as I explored waterfalls and rock formations. I remember taking my earphones out and listening to the birds and different noises around me, and not being sure of what was a better experience - to have the soundtrack (a unique experience in its own right) or to be steeped fully in the natural scene.

Listening to Bersarin Quartett’s self-titled sends me back to those few days in the outdoors. The second album sends me back to winter, I can almost hear rainfall in the songs. To this day, anything in the catalogue helps to set the tone when I need focus, whether reading or coding. I hope you find a similar escape while exploring this music.

Track Highlights

Bersarin Quartett has a knack for creating soundscapes that paint vivid images in my mind’s eye. There are subtle sounds to be heard in the background here - a creaking of a stool during the opening drone loop, some dog’s barking with a reverberation that suggests the outdoors, and insects at dusk. The arrangement has a subtle sense of foreboding - not outright terror, but that something is about to be discovered that is ultimately heart breaking. The opening scene of an English murder mystery perhaps - what is the old priest about to discover? This is just my mind’s eye, mind you, perhaps you imagine nothing at all. FWIW - the title translates from German to Things are never as they seem in English.

Incredible mood, massive ambient built, and overall a fascinating experience. Pairs well with your own choice of mind-altering substance.

I’m an absolute sucker for the tones on display here, they appear so round and organic to my ears. I love the interweaving drones throughout this piece, and the ambient samples contributing a sense of rhythm. FWIW - the title translates from German to The moon, the snow and you in English.

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