William Bevan, better known as Burial, makes music that sounds like the ghostly, time-lapsed R&B of some alternate universe in which all pop stars have been replaced by fragments of their own songs. Ripped from its context and warped thoroughly, these fragments, or samples, are set to driving, aggressive rhythms that suggests dance music.
At first this might seem at odds with the predominantly dark mood — everything is overcast, subterranean, muffled, muted and warped. Who is dancing to this? Despite this disconnect, the alien-sounding vocals, singing melodies that seem vaguely familiar, keep you moving through the music, as if led by hand. And sometimes the beat drops out entirely, seemingly to allow for a better glimpse of the scenery, provided by giant-sounding string swells, pulsating sub-bass, angelic vocals, organs, metal-sounds, phantom noises, etc.
It’s all really quite nice. If you can learn to enjoy the ride, (his recent compositions, and I don’t use that word lightly, average in around 10 minutes, but it’s worth it) listen through the pitch-blackness that seems to surround everything and you’ll be rewarded. The music actually begins to sound uplifting.
The reason I mention all of that is because I couldn’t think of another way to start my first blog post, and Burial happens to be hot on the heels of his recent single ‘Truant / Rough Sleeper’ which capped off 2012 for the young UK producer, who had already released the phenomenal ‘Kindred EP’ earlier in the year.
Both of the releases make him the MVP for electronic music in 2012, and what better way to start a blog devoted to discussing electronic music every week than with a gushing, totally biased word on the producer in question.
If you’ve never listened to Burial and his music sounds at all intriguing, I suggest tracking down his 2007 album “Untrue”, as the more conventional song-lengths and album format of that record serve as a good entry point to the world of Burial (which is nocturnal, exclusively lit by streetlamp, and often reflected in murky, sleek asphalt, half-remembered as an R&B hit from a bygone era).
Since the release of that album, the producer has turned to shorter formats such as the single or EP, making more deliberately composed works that stand up to traditional albums while only being 2-3 tracks long (as with the aforementioned ‘Truant/Rough Sleeper’ single and ‘Kindred EP’). The songs have meanwhile grown in length, as well as in scope. And while his recent release is technically a double-sided single, it’s nearly the length of an early Beatles album. But every creak and crack has its place within these compositions and no time or space is wasted.
I feel compelled to warn those interested in listening that the darkly-lit atmosphere of these songs may threaten to keep you at arm’s length. The music may seem intimidating at first, but try not to worry so much about where the song is taking you. Just sit back, and let your mind wander through the desolate, film-noir city streets. It could be disorienting at first — you might even get lost. But if you’re up to it, your mind will start to map out the surroundings. Your brain will do what it can to formalize the dimensions of the space the sounds describe. And who knows, in time you might not be afraid of the dark at all.
