Burial (musician)
British electronic musician

Burial
Background information
Birth nameWilliam Emmanuel Bevan
OriginSouth London, England, United Kingdom
Genres
Occupations
  • Record producer
  • musician
InstrumentPersonal computer[1]
Years active2001–present[2]
Labels
Musical artist

William Emmanuel Bevan,[3][4] known by his recording alias Burial, is a British electronic musician from South London. Initially remaining anonymous, Burial became the first artist signed to Kode9's electronic label Hyperdub in 2005. He won acclaim the following year for his self-titled debut album, an influential release in the UK's dubstep scene which showcased a dark, emotive take on UK rave music styles such as UK garage and 2-step;[5] it was named the album of the year by The Wire.[6] Burial's second album, Untrue, was released to further critical acclaim in 2007.[7]

In 2008, Bevan's identity was revealed by The Independent and confirmed by Hyperdub. In the following years, he went on to collaborate with artists such as Four Tet, Massive Attack, Thom Yorke, Zomby, and The Bug, in addition to releasing a series of long-form EPs such as Kindred (2012), Truant / Rough Sleeper (2012), and Rival Dealer (2013); most of these releases were later compiled on the 2019 compilation Tunes 2011–2019. He has remained reclusive, giving few interviews and avoiding public appearances.[8] AllMusic described him as "one of the most acclaimed, influential, and enigmatic electronic musicians of the early 21st century."[9]

Biography

Early career: self-titled debut and Untrue

Bevan grew up a fan of jungle and garage, having been introduced to the UK rave scene by his older brothers. He mentioned American garage producer Todd Edwards and the UK's 2-step subgenre as favorites.[1] In an interview with The Wire, he explained:

I was brought up on old jungle tunes and garage tunes that had lots of vocals in but me and my brothers loved intense, darker tunes too, I found something I could believe in... but sometimes I used to listen to the ones with vocals on my own and it was almost a secret thing [...] My brother might bring back these records that seemed really adult to me and I couldn’t believe I had 'em. It was like when you first saw Terminator or Alien when you're only little. I'd get a rush from it, I was hearing this other world...[1]

Bevan began sending Steve Goodman (Kode9) letters and CD-Rs of his home-made music around 2002, having been a fan of the music featured on Goodman's Hyperdub website.[10] In 2005, the label released the South London Boroughs EP, which collected tracks recorded by Burial for several years prior. Burial's self-titled 2006 debut album was the first full-length release on Hyperdub.

Despite early acclaim, Burial initially remained anonymous, and said in an early interview that "only five people know I make tunes".[11] In February 2008, The Independent speculated[12] that Burial was Bevan, an alumnus of South London's Elliott School.[3][13] The school's alumni also include Kieran Hebden (Four Tet), with whom Bevan has collaborated. On 22 July 2008, it was announced Burial was a nominee for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize for his second album, Untrue.[14] There was much Mercury Prize-related coverage in tabloid newspapers in the UK, including speculation that Burial was either Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) or Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim).[15] On 5 August 2008, Bevan confirmed his identity, and posted a picture of himself on his Myspace page.[12] A blog entry stated, "I'm a lowkey person and I just want to make some tunes", as well as announcing a forthcoming four-track 12″, and thanking his fans for their support up to this point.[12]

Post-Untrue work

Rather than releasing a third album, Burial has spent the years since Untrue releasing increasingly longer and more experimental individual tracks. This began with "Moth" / "Wolf Cub", a collaboration with Four Tet, and Burial's own track "Fostercare" and EP Street Halo. He developed this practice, experimenting with multi-part suites rather than conventional songs on a Massive Attack collaboration, "Four Walls" / "Paradise Circus",[16][17] and subsequent solo EPs Kindred (2012), Truant / Rough Sleeper (2012) and Rival Dealer (2013). Each of these EPs was met with critical acclaim, with Kindred being singled out in particular as a landmark release.[18][19][20] Three further shorter records were released in the following years; "Temple Sleeper" was released on Keysound Recordings in 2015,[21] an EP titled Young Death / Nightmarket came out in November 2016,[22] and Subtemple / Beachfires followed in May 2017.[23]

In 2018, Burial worked with Kode9 to compile Fabriclive 100, the final instalment of the long-running Fabriclive mix CD series.[24] He then collaborated with The Bug on two EPs, 2018's Fog / Shrine and 2019's Dive / Rain, released under the names "Flame 1" and "Flame 2", respectively.[25][26] A compilation of Burial's solo EP and single releases, Tunes 2011–2019, was released on Hyperdub at the end of 2019.[27]

In December 2020, Burial, Four Tet, and Thom Yorke released two new songs, "Her Revolution" and "His Rope",[28] followed by a Burial-only release, "Chemz".[29] In April 2021, Burial and Blackdown released a split EP, Shock Power of Love, with two songs from each artist.[30] The next month, the previous year's single, "Chemz", was given a physical release alongside the track "Dolphinz".[31]

In December 2021, a new EP titled Antidawn was announced for a release in January 2022.[32] Another EP titled Streetlands released later the same year in October.[33] In July 2023, Burial released the single "Unknown Summer", alongside Kode9's single "Infirmary".[34]

In February 2024, Burial released the EP "Dreamfear / Boy Sent From Above" on XL Recordings.[35] Later that year in June, Burial and Kode9 released another split single, consisting of Burial's "Phoneglow" and Kode9's "Eyes Go Blank".[36] In July 2024, it was reported that Burial had composed the scores for Andrea Arnold's film, Bird (2024), and Harmony Korine's film, Baby Invasion (2024).[37]

Style and composition

AllMusic described Burial's recordings as "gloomy, dystopian soundscapes" which blend "fractured breakbeats with mysterious, pitch-shifted voices and loads of vinyl crackle, rainfall, and submerged video game sound effects."[9] His work is inspired by British dance music such as garage, jungle, and hardcore, while his first album was one of the first prominent dubstep albums.[9] He was associated with the mid-2000s hauntology trend, in which British artists explored elements of "spectral" cultural memory.[38]

Bevan claims to compose his music in Sound Forge, a digital audio editor, and to eschew the use of trackers and sequencers. As he describes the process in an interview, "Once I change something, I can never un-change it. I can only see the waves. So I know when I’m happy with my drums because they look like a nice fishbone. When they look just skeletal as fuck in front of me, and so I know they’ll sound good."[39] He also said that he didn't use a sequencer, because if his drums were timed too perfectly, they would "lose something" and "sound rubbish".[39] Discussing his rhythmic affinities in an interview with writer Mark Fisher, Burial stated that:

Something happens when I hear the subs, the rolling drums and vocals together. To me it’s like a pure UK style of music, and I wanted to make tunes based on what UK underground hardcore tunes mean to me, and I want a dose of real life in there too, something people can relate to.[1]

Of his production techniques, journalist Derek Walmsley wrote in The Wire:

"Ghost Hardware"
An excerpt from 'Ghost Hardware', demonstrating Burial's use of crackle, shuffle, and manipulated vocal samples.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Burial decided at the outset to avoid at all costs the rigid, mechanistic path that eventually brought drum 'n' bass to a standstill. To this end, his percussion patterns are intuitively arranged on the screen rather than rigidly quantized, creating minute hesitations and slippages in the rhythm. His snares and hi-hats are covered in fuzz and phaser, like cobwebs on forgotten instruments, and the mix is rough and ready rather than endlessly polished. Perhaps most importantly, his basslines sound like nothing else on Earth. Distorted and heavy, yet also warm and earthy, they resemble the balmy gust of air that precedes an underground train.[40]

Burial's music features heavily in the work of documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis.[41] Curtis places Bevan's emotionally saturated sound within the context of a possible cultural revival of the spirit of Romanticism.[42] Discussing the song "Come Down to Us", which is a prominent motif on the soundtrack of his documentary Bitter Lake, in an interview with music and pop culture magazine Dazed, Curtis lionises the piece as a work of "genius"[43] going on to explain:

It really sums up our time... That song is saying, it's really frightening to jump off the edge into the darkness. Both when you fall in love with someone, and when you want to change the world. And it depends whether you can live with the fear or whether you really want the thrill of it. Or whether you retreat into the world you're happy with. And I think that's why it's a work of genius. He's got it, it's the mood of our time that we're waiting for. He's way ahead of our time, an epic emotional artist.[43]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

EPs

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Fisher, Mark.Burial: Unedited Transcript Archived 1 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine The Wire. Retrieved 21 January 2007.
  2. ^ Burial (CD Back Cover Notes). Burial. London, UK: Hyperdub. 2006. HDBCD001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ a b Brown, Jonathan; Lucy Kinnear (11 February 2008). "The real school of rock". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
  4. ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2013". Pitchfork Media. 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  5. ^ IMO Records "Burial Biography" Archived 11 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine, IMO Records, London, 20 October 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  6. ^ The Wire (January 2007). "Rewind 2006". The Wire. No. 275. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  7. ^ Best Albums of 2007 Archived 26 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Metacritic. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  8. ^ Stonham, Buster. "Review: Burial – Truant / Rough Sleeper". Music Factory Number One. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  9. ^ a b c Birchmeier, Jason. "Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Electronic Beats". Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  11. ^ Hancox, Dan. "Only five people know I make tunes Archived 13 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine". The Guardian, 26 October 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
  12. ^ a b c "Nationwide Mercury Music Prize nominee Burial’s identity revealed Archived 12 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine" NME. Accessed 11 February 2017
  13. ^ Parkin, Chris (2 October 2006). "Hot Chip: interview". Time Out London. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
  14. ^ Mercury Prize Nominations. The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-11-23. Archived 25 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Sisson, Patrick (18 January 2010). "Pitchfork interviews Four Tet". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  16. ^ Four Walls – Massive Attack vs Burial ltd. edition 12″ « Massive Attack Blog Archived 12 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Massive Attack. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
  17. ^ Four Walls / Paradise Circus – Massive Attack vs Burial – The VinylFactory Editions Shop Archived 31 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Vfeditions.com. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
  18. ^ Burial – Truant / Rough Sleeper: Single Review Archived 13 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine The Skinny. Retrieved 13 December 2013
  19. ^ Metacritic - Burial's Scores Archived 8 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-12-13
  20. ^ "Burial – Album Reviews Archived 13 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine" Pitchfork (website). Retrieved 13 December 2013
  21. ^ Gordon, Jeremy (22 January 2015). "Burial Releases "Temple Sleeper" Single". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  22. ^ Renshaw, David (28 November 2016). "Listen To Two New Burial Songs". The Fader. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  23. ^ Friedman, Sam (19 May 2017). "Burial Releases Two New Ambient Tracks "Subtemple" and "Beachfires"". Prefix Magazine. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  24. ^ Pearl, Max (15 August 2018). "Kode9 & Burial mix the final Fabriclive". Resident Advisor. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  25. ^ "Burial and the Bug Share New Song "Shrine": Listen". Pitchfork. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  26. ^ "Burial and the Bug Drop New EP: Listen". Pitchfork. 5 August 2019. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  27. ^ "Burial: Tunes 2011-2019 review". the Guardian. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  28. ^ "Listen to Thom Yorke, Burial, and Four Tet's new songs "Her Revolution" and "His Rope"". Pitchfork. 11 December 2020. Archived from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  29. ^ "Burial shares new 12-minute track 'Chemz' | NME". NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News. 21 December 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Burial and Blackdown Share New Split EP: Listen". Pitchfork. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  31. ^ "Burial Releases New Song "Dolphinz": Listen". Pitchfork. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  32. ^ "Burial Announces New Antidawn EP". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  33. ^ "Burial shares surprise EP Streetlands". The FADER. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  34. ^ "Burial and Kode9 return with split-single "Infirmary" / "Unknown Summer"". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  35. ^ "Listen to Burial's New Single "Dreamfear / Boy Sent From Above"". Pitchfork. 2 February 2024. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  36. ^ "Burial & Kode9 Share New Split 12": Listen". Stereogum. 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  37. ^ Monroe, Jazz (23 July 2024). "Burial Scores New Harmony Korine Movie Baby Invasion". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  38. ^ Albiez, Sean (2017). Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume 11. Bloomsbury. pp. 347–349. ISBN 9781501326103. Archived from the original on 5 August 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  39. ^ a b Clark, Martin (21 March 2006). "soundboy burial". Blackdown Blog. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  40. ^ Derek Walmsley, "Dubstep", The Wire Primers: A Guide to Modern Music, ed. Rob Young, London: Verso, 2009, p. 92.
  41. ^ "BBC Blogs - Adam Curtis - Adam Curtis". BBC. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  42. ^ "EP.44 - ADAM CURTIS | Adam Buxton". adam-buxton.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  43. ^ a b Dazed (27 October 2016). "Adam Curtis on power in a post-truth world". Dazed. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.

Further reading

  • Twells, John (15 May 2016). "Burial turns 10: The roots of a dubstep masterpiece". Fact Magazine.
  • Burial official page at Hyperdub Records
  • Burial discography at Discogs
  • Burial interview from BlackDownSoundBoy blog, 2006
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