A beginner’s guide to Burial

In honor of all the rain we’ve been getting recently, I decided to write this piece as a way to introduce you all to the wonder that is Burial. If the darkness of underground subways, the smell and sound of rain on pavement, and grinding industrial beats sounds appealing, then read on, dear reader. What follows is a collection of tunes so moody you’ll have an inexplicable urge to pull up your hood, shove your earbuds in, and wander the city streets alone at night.

To give you a little background, Burial is a musician from the UK who creates atmospheric future garage/dubstep (not the Skrillex kind, don’t worry). His music is full of vinyl crackles, distorted voice samples, lurching beats, and an aura of mystery. This mystery is enhanced by the fact that his true identity was unknown for the first 3 years after his debut. My goal with this article is to ease you into the world of Burial, and highlight the best of his work.

To start you off, I’ve chosen an assortment of 10 songs/albums/EPs that should give you a good idea of Burial’s genius.

1.  “Archangel”

Burial’s most popular song off of his 2007 classic Untrue and the first Burial track I heard back in high school is an accessible and resonant start to our journey. The album as a whole remains one of the most influential electronic albums of all time, and is certainly worth a listen. The rolling drums, the atmospheric background, and the textured crinkle of vinyl are all features of Burial’s signature sound. Burial doesn’t use a traditional sequencer when he makes his beats. This makes his drums sound more real and less “perfect”. It can also cause the drums to collapse in on each other over time, as they become less synched. Oh, and who can forget that infamous pitch adjusted vocal sample? “Holding you / Couldn’t be alone / Tell me I belong”

2.  “Temple Sleeper”

An outlier in Burial’s discography, filled with Vangelis style synths and way more danceable than most Burial songs, Temple Sleeper is a trance style tune with a relentless pace that accelerates to a snarling aggressive drumbeat around the 4 minute mark. In my opinion, this song is highly underrated in Burial’s discography despite showing his versatility quite well.

3.  Kindred (2012)

Alright, now we’re getting to the next level stuff.  Burial’s Kindred, is, in my opinion, the best collection of songs Burial has ever released. The title track starts with the industrial clank of metal on metal, and shifts into a more melodic territory as the deep lurking synths begin and the vocal samples add a haunting level of intimacy. “Loner” begins with a vocal sample — “there is something out there” — followed by extraterrestrial synths before the off-kilter beat and the deep tones change the mood. Between the incredibly altered vocal samples and the dreamy arpeggio, the song is catchy despite its emotional heaviness. The EP concludes with my favorite Burial song, and, in my opinion, the singular greatest track ever conceived by the artist. Over the track’s 11 minute duration, it undergoes multiple mutations and transformations without ever interrupting the cohesiveness or theme of isolation in urban living. “Ashtray Wasp” begins by setting the stormy, soot covered atmosphere, which is interrupted by an abrupt female voice — “A’ight bye.” Now begins the second part of the song, and the classic two step syncopated beats characteristic of future garage kick in. At around the 8 minute mark, the song undergoes another transformation, becoming darker as the vocal sample begins to feel submerged underground. In the final two minutes of the song, a gentle piano melody accompanied by a trickling arpeggio bring upon a devastating sense of loneliness and melancholy to conclude the EP.

4.  Rival Dealer (2014)

A landmark EP, Rival Dealer tossed out all the preconceived notions about Burial’s sound. “Rival Dealer” is a chaotic and noisy track filled with a monstrosity of a bassline that sounds like the screaming of a huge, industrial machine. “I’m gonna love you more than anyone” is the vocal sample of choice, altered to sound robotic and electric. Burial also includes socially conscious themes of bisexuality and self acceptance, proclaiming that the album was meant to be “like an angel’s spell to protect them against the unkind people, the dark times, and the self-doubt”. Halfway through, the song becomes more and more aggressive, and samples of “this is who I am” punctuate the increased tempo and static buzzing. Burial’s next song “Hiders” is a weak track in my opinion, but it is certainly a digression from Burial’s style with its grand anthemic melodicism. Finally, “Come Down to Us” begins with another female sample – “excuse me, I’m lost.” This desperation builds into a stunning sitar riff and a beautifully hopeful melody. This is Burial at his most optimistic, and the songs are tinged with a joyous trust in humanity’s goodness.

5.  Truant (2012)

While not as grandiose as some of Burial’s other work, this two track EP finds Burial taking his time to develop a nuanced atmosphere. “Truant” coasts along at a slow simmer, with subtle vocal samples murmuring in the background of a heavily textured beat. The stasis of the song captures a rather melancholic feel of laziness, and the wind chimes that float in the breeze behind the drums give an airy quality to the track. The track finally begins to pick up the pace halfway through, but only briefly before cutting out and becoming replaced by a new beat. Near the end, the drum and bass become more brutal, but never compromise the slow burn that slowly transitions into “Rough Sleeper.” Named after a British term for homeless people that sleep in subway stations and on benches, the track slowly gains intensity as pitch altered voices cry out in the distance. A muffled saxophone makes a brief appearance as the song picks up before morphing into a hypnotic melody punctuated by heavily altered vocal samples that give the section an otherworldly quality. A sense of tinged euphoria embodies the middle section of the song, with samples singing “Just / Light surrounding you / Be strong / You stay.” The track finishes off with some muted synths and more 2 step beats, that increase in volume until cutting out completely, leaving only silence.

Now the world of Burial awaits you. Immerse yourself in a concrete jungle where street lights glint off rain soaked pavement. These selections will give you a perfect introduction into Burial’s work and what makes his music so special. So the next time you’re getting on BART or walking back from class in the rain, give these a listen. They may just make your journey a little bit more memorable.

Article by Everett Williams