Bersarin Quartett - Bersarin Quartett (Album Review)


 Bersarin Quartett - Bersarin Quartett

(2008)


My copy: 2014 limited repress on gold transparent vinyl by Denovali Records.


Bersarin Quartett is the first self-titled release from German ambient/electronic producer Thomas Bücker. Similar to the ambitious Tryshasla by Dutch electronic producer Secede, Bücker crafts a dynamic world with theatrical sound ideas that push his songs closer to soundtrack music. 

The album starts slow and subtle with distant, reverberating keys and strings. Sampled drums and deep synth bass transform “Oktober” into a smooth twist of IDM and ambient music, with swirling melodies merely accenting the distorted, lo-fi drum loops. “Geschichten Von Interesse” is more mysterious as it mixes in a moving woodwind performance. The percussive effects here are more calculated as they poke about with soothing keys. Here Bücker uses strange samples of what sounds like meteor crashing to Earth, complete with sounds of scattering debris, playing into the mystery of the track. Given that there is no visual component, the listener can put together any kind of story they’d like while listening. “Inversion” then takes the mood down into a sleepy atmosphere made haunting by imposing chords and a rising flood of background noise. This track excellently displays the power of silence, as with its peak in volume, everything drops out: stunning unsuspecting listeners while the song reboots. 

Woodwind reappears on “St. Petersburg” though here its melodies are evaporating across the track's meticulous series of tight electronic loops. “Und Die Welt Steht Still” is essentially a nine-minute loop of the same ambient drones, albeit with the most reassuring progression of the whole record. Nature recordings are layered over by woozy synths on “Die Dinge Sind Nie So Wie Sie Sind” before new textures are added via intense synths. Drums crack the song wide open with sampled horns, though everything is a bit too lo-fi. “Nachtblind” begins as a moody piano piece before turning into a brutalist blast of noise with heavy bass hits. 

“Es Kann Nicht Ewig Winter Sein” is interesting for its take on trip-hop by way of lounge jazz in the brushed drums and groovy bass. 

“Endlich Am Ziel” is the only track to feature any kind of guitar (sampled or otherwise) as it rearranges “The Very Last Day” by German prog band Long distance Calling. The first half of “Mehr Als Alles Andere” is fantastical and filled with almost childlike whimsy - until a spasming IDM beat converts it to a shifting wall of electronic melodies. The final track syncopates echoing piano against noise drones until the drums return with sharp bass and ringing sirens in the background. 

Bücker’s world here is just that: a world of genre-mixing portraits that are nebulous enough for the listener to fill in their own mental images. There are outlines of stories hidden behind the seamless mix of IDM and modern classical, with creative sound effects that bolster the album’s identity. Bersarin Quartett is a fantasy of its own advent, and one that will dance about in your memory for days to come.

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