The latest offering from London producer William Bevan, aka Burial, is the fantastic ‘Rival Dealer’, a three-track EP proving to be his most divisive release to date. Part of his fanbase claims that this is his best release since 2007’s ‘Untrue’ while others claim he’s watering down his music and selling out. The second criticism is obviously ridiculous; two of the songs run past 10 minutes and the title track is a homage to the rave music Burial grew up listening to – hardly commercial gold. I also disagree with the first criticism, and hopefully any naysayers can be convinced by taking a look at Burial’s previous output.
Bevan’s existence in the world of music is one of true anonymity; he never makes public appearances or plays live shows, only very rarely gives interviews, and managed to release two highly acclaimed albums before we even knew his real name. One might expect that all this would distance fans from his music, but the exact opposite is true: his anonymity heightens the intimacy of what is already introspective music. The lack of live performances is hardly an issue either; Burial is headphone music, designed for isolated listening. It has always been a contradictory mixture of light and dark, simultaneously hopeful and melancholy; it’s cathartic, and while some tracks could be called dance music, the best time to listen to it has always been when you feel alone.
He’s mellowed in recent years, but Burial’s early production style was darker, rougher, more visceral. The beats were skittery, the bass switched between smooth and twitchy, the sound was cavernous. By removing some of the more jarring electro elements from this and giving the music more breathing space, he created one of the most hauntingly beautiful electronic records ever in ‘Untrue’. Since then, Burial hasn’t given us another full album, preferring to release occasional songs and EPs as and when. Starting with ‘Kindred’ in 2012, his music took on a more expansive feel, with songs regularly clocking in at over 10 minutes long and comprising several movements. People welcomed this change in style, praising the more experimental approach Burial had taken, whilst still ‘sounding like Burial’.
So why the indignation over the change on ‘Rival Dealer’? The production has shifted away from the jittery darkness of previous work, but the philosophy and soul behind the music is intact. Littered across the songs are samples of people discussing identity and sexuality; ‘Come Down to Us’ finishes with an excerpt of Lana Wachowski’s acceptance speech for the HRC’s Visibility Award, in which she discusses being transgender. In a rare communication with the public, Burial texted into Mary Anne Hobbs’ radio show regarding the EP: “… I wanted the tunes to be anti-bullying tunes that could maybe help someone to believe in themselves, to know that someone out there cares and is looking out for them. It’s like an angel’s spell to protect them against the dark times and the self-doubts.” Bevan still sees his music as providing comfort, and ‘Rival Dealer’ is just a natural progression for him; turning down the dark and stepping out of the shadows to give people hope in his own small way.
