William Emmanuel Bevan, who releases work under the name Burial, is an electronic musician from South London whose 2007 album “Untrue” is regarded as one of the most important electronic albums of this century ( Reynolds. S, 2017). His experimental production techniques resulted in the album having a futuristic, new age tone; he often used pitch shifted vocals and added texture through the use of vinyl crackles and various sound effects.The album has been described as future garage or as ambient future, his use of digital software and manipulation highlighted the possibilities of how the new digital age could positively impact music production.
The track ‘Etched Headplate’ shows the most digital influence, with the main sample being taken from a YouTube video of Alicia Robinson covering the 2003 R&B track “Angel” by Amanda Perez. I think that the use of such an obscure sample really marked the beginning of a new age of sampling; sparked by the rise of streaming platforms. I think that this method of sampling both highlights how inspired by technology Bevan was and gives us an insight into his workflow, he often used unheard sounds from the internet which he felt reflected the morose tone he was trying to convey in his music.
Although Burial could be seen as a technical pioneer due to his method of sampling, ironically he didn’t use a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), instead opting to the digital audio editor SoundForge to create his tracks. This ultimately made his entire production technique a lot more difficult, and seems counterintuitive. The use of a digital audio editor meant there was no quantisation, and once he’d deleted or manipulated an audio clip, it couldn’t be undone. I think that by using such a primitive program to make his tracks added a sort of intuitive, genuine energy to his music, and ultimately what makes his work so iconic. He created a freedom within his tracks which made the album refreshing and fascinating, there’s slight hesitations in the rhythm and he used heavy fuzz and phaser on the drums that give them a vintage kind of warmth.
Overall, I think that the technical choices Burial made during the production of “Untrue” led to an ingenious album with a completely raw energy, and whilst researching his methods, I gained an appreciation for how a persons workflow and techniques can change their music in a drastic way.
Chau, D. (2017) The impact of burial’s ‘untrue,’ 10 years later, The Ringer. The Ringer. Available at: https://www.theringer.com/music/2017/11/3/16601150/burial-untrue-10-year-anniversary (Accessed: November 24, 2022).
Hawthorn , C. (2017) Burial’s untrue: The making of a masterpiece ⟋ RA films, Resident Advisor. Available at: https://ra.co/features/3102 (Accessed: November 24, 2022). https://ra.co/features/3102
Kottke , J. (2017) The making of burial’s untrue, kottke.org. Available at: https://kottke.org/17/12/the-making-of-burials-untrue (Accessed: November 24, 2022).
Reynolds, S. (2017) Why burial’s untrue is the most important electronic album of the century so far, Pitchfork. Pitchfork. Available at: https://pitchfork.com/features/article/why-burials-untrue-is-the-most-important-electronic-album-of-the-century-so-far/ (Accessed: November 25, 2022).