Search - Burial :: Burial

Dubstep, gets It's first ,truly Essential Masterpiece....

fetish_2000 | U.K. | 01/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dubstep is although a relatively recent music genre, it's a successful splicing of the rhythmic arrangements and some of the instrumentation, normally associated with 2-Step/Garage, with the bass and reverberation of Dub reggae. And what initially seems like an unusual/oddly confusing pairing of genres, works remarkably like a mash-up of dancefloor friendly, bass-heavy 2-step. But there is a new lineage of producers willing to experiment with the boundaries of the genre...taking other elements of genres, and slowly filtering them into the Dubstep genre. Enter low-key producer "Burial" with a altogether more sinister approach to the genre. His masterstroke is to take the sound out of the clubs, and shift the focus towards something far more suited towards an intimate home-listening experience, slow the beats down and give them an eerie, disembodied paranoid edge, and take the mood & atmosphere of Electronica and imbue them against melancholy keyboards, throbbing acid lines, and fragmented beats, and arrange them into hugely atmospheric slow-moving almost filmic sci-fi productions, that make up the albums tracks.



It's a largely gloomy and ghostly sound, one that expresses a mournful sonic sentiment, via the use of spacious, sparse productions with little touches like static and echo effects, that recall night-time cityscape aerial-views of the capital at night. Sounds and moods are build around samples, shifting awkwardly around each other. "Gutted" shapes an impressively claustrophobic track, which would be ideal, for driving a car through the city after dark, around what sounds like a sample of a gun (pistol) being reloaded. "Prayer" uses a more spooky and decidedly haunted echo derived sound to get it's point across admirably, by not only showing considerable skill as a producer, but the insight to argument moody & sonic texture beautifully. 'Distant Lights' mixes incredibly sparse programmed beats, into a stretching metallic-organic hybrid soundscapes, by coupling a shimmering vocal against a bass-reverberating rumble, and like pretty much all the tracks here, it's construction is in theory...fairly simplistic, but it more than compensates by any technical limitations offered by the producer, by being hugely atmospheric and tremendously evocative.



Some people are calling this their "underground Album of the year" (2006), and although I've heard far too much in 2006, to award any one particular album that accolade. I will agree that this is a truly remarkable album, one that is a reasonably innovative album...in so far, as truly pushes the genre forward, it's spare/stark/claustrophobic/melancholic mood and tone, is completely at odds with the more dance-oriented sounds of Dubstep. It's an album that sounds truly at it best, under the cover of night....using it's more sinister manipulation of moods, in a way that develops into a truly brilliant album of such cold inspiration and druggy emotion, ethereal atmospherics, submerged soundscapes, and a shimmering tension to the music, that so incredibly well realised, that how he'll follow this up, is anyone's guess. Another reviewer mentioned that a rough description of this album, would be something akin to an Instrumental version of "Massive Attacks - Blue Lines" (or "Tricky's" Work), and that a fairly good comparison. If you could imagine an instrumental version of `Blue Lines' (or more closely, Tricky's Albums) with the tension turned way up, the string sections removed, and the rhythmic arrangements stripped down to their barest elements. And the Dub side made harsher, and replacing the soulful beating heart of Blue Lines, with something far Colder in sound, it could reasonably be considered that is what to expect. But irrespective of that, this is one of the most startling albums I've heard last year, and easily deserving of inclusion on all of the critics end of year `Best of' lists.

"

The rebirth of a genre

consumer123 | Los Angeles, CA | 09/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If drum 'n bass, or electronic music in general, needed an inspiration, Burial is it. In my opinion, his self-titled debut is probably the best album I've run across in 2006 so far - and that means everything else Pitchfork has recommended this year. While Skream and others are the stars of this relatively new genre called dubstep, Burial truely has taken it somewhere else - somewhere deeper and more sophisticated than any of the "huge" hits of the scene. For a better picture of what I'm getting at, think a mostly-instrumental version of Massive Attack and Tricky with a little tricky two-step and some sounds reminiscent of late-90s techstep. Check out the songs "Distant Lights," "Southern Comfort," and the clever gun-cock sample used throughout "Gutted.""

Do not miss this if you are into electronic music

A. Rodkin | Fremont, CA United States | 04/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It was very refreshing to hear this CD. I listen to a lot of new music, but most of the stuff leaves my player after a couple of listens.

This however is one of those things that will remain memorable...similar to those early 90's massive attack albums. The music is obviously electronic, but somehow it manages to have this deep, organic sound. The rhythms are somewhat complex, unexpected. I don't think it will work extremely well as club dance music, but this doesn't really matter to me.



I am not sure how someone would give it 1 star. Obviously this is not for everyone - it is hard to imagine my dad digging it (he likes sinatra and stan getz)...but if one likes creative electronic music, there is no way one will be dissappointed.

And if you do like this, there are a few other good artists to explore, e.g Kode 9, Boxcutter and the likes"