Burial's Untrue: The making of a masterpiece
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ก.ย. 2024
- Ten years since its release, we unpack the creative process behind one of electronic music's most mysterious classics.
Visit the RA feature page:
www.residentad...
Subscribe to RA's TH-cam channel: bit.ly/1x7PeGy
Where would UK dance music be without Burial's Untrue? The South Londoner's second album, released ten years ago this month on Hyperdub, has arguably done more than any other record in recent history to shape electronic music, presenting not only novel production techniques but the power of rooting a record in a specific time, mood and place. Through its dank textures and heart-wrenching vocals, Untrue portrays the darker side of London, a rainy metropolis filled with lonely citizens and long-forgotten clubs. But it's not all doom and gloom. Peeking through the shadows are glimmers of light, hope, even euphoria. To quote the man himself, it's these flashes that ultimately give Untrue its "buzzin', glowy, uplifting" edge.
This video essay, the first of its kind on Resident Advisor, tells the story of Untrue, from the software and the samples to its influence on a whole generation of producers. The mystery surrounding Burial means there's a lot we'll probably never know. But then that's part of what makes Untrue such an iconic piece of work.
Narrator: Moxie
Writer: Carlos Hawthorn
Editor: Sophie Misrahi
Graphics: Mike Winkelmann
*Correction - Vocal sample at 6:08 was Aaliyah, not Ashanti.
Burial is like that 30 min walk from the party to your place at 2am on a wednesday
why is this so accurate?
In the rain, but you don't mind
With wet streets and reflecting headlights rhythmically passing you by.
That's not what burial is for me, each to their own.
or that late night drive through empty streets with the odd headlight every now and then
Burial: writes a Grammy-Nominated masterpiece in 2 weeks using a technological fossil
Me: spent 2 years making 33 unfinished 8-bar loops on Ableton and releasing 0 tracks
Bro, I felt that..
Take the 33 unfinished 8-bar loops, export them as wavs, load them into traktor with 4 decks and use harmonic mixing to make one big massive mashup. Might work!
@Innocuous 822001 good perspective
Chances are it’s not you, but Abletons soulkilling roboticism..
The producer paradigm right there.
Untrue is like listening to an album of half remembered songs you heard years ago floating around in your subconscious.
That's how I feel listening to Music Has The Right to Children
It’s actually crazy how on point this comment is. Holy
based🙏
@@stormi2534100%. MHTRTC has some of the most nostalgic sounds I'd ever come across as a music listener when I first discovered that album so long ago... definitely still one of my all-time favorites
DUDE, this literally just happened to me! At first I didn't really get this album at first but then archangel just popped into my head, one of my favourite albums now. Scary accurate.
Wow I'm just now seeing this, this is so cool still till this day i'm getting messages from fans telling me that burial sampled me i'm so honored to have been a part of this wish I could reach out to him been looking for years
Alexandre Olival yes I have been in contact with the right sources :)
damn this is amazing I hope u managed to contact him!
Signor Maiale thanks love got in contact with all the right sources 😁
Wow! Much respect to you both
I’m crying. This album means so much to me. Probably listened to it over 300+ times since I first heard it back in 08.
I wouldn’t call this one of the greatest electronic music albums ever made.
I’d call it one of the greatest albums ever made, period.
Fr shit hits different
Agreed.
Pretty much. I think it was actually rated like that in one magazine as one of the best albums of all time or of the early 2000s.
totally!
Literally
"He's not concerned with audio quality. It's all about the emotional value of the sound".
Glad to know I'm not alone.
There's no difference between these two statements, both things are completely related, if you disequalise a Burial tune the emotional tone will be way off obviously.
the audio quality is extremely high end on this record.
word
This man could probably make an album with the voice memo app
he prolly did already, we just think it was ableton
When I was about 17 years old, it was a very dark time in my life.. I couldn't stop using hard drugs everyday after school, alone in my room, depressed and borderline suicidal. Every day I felt alone in my head and with my emotions. It was also around that time I discovered the album Untrue.. the deep emotional sound reached me in a way that no piece of music had ever before. I cried my eyes out, I felt my emotions more intensely.. but I did not feel so hopeless. Burial's music saved my life and has been a huge influence on my own music production.
This is the deepest, most sincere and brave comment i've ever seen on youtube, and your story is all too familiar.
I wish you the best in life my man. Keep it real ;D
I'm glad you made it through that man! Burial's music helped me through some seriously dark times too... That's the power and beauty of music eh!
Whether or not you all think or see or believe it, I think it's no coincidence that Burials actual middle name Is Emmanuel, meaning "God with us" I'm not even sure but perhaps without even his own knowing or perhaps with, I notice a very spiritual tone with his music. It really is deep, a bit dark and kind of sad sounding. Its emotional and beautiful, it inspires feelings of hope. I was FLOORED to find out the lyrics from wayfaring stranger had been borrowed from Jamie Moon's rendition of a very old gospel song.. a year after declaring my life and love for God. Which by the way was no simple task for a former unbeliever.. and I mean I used to hate God, my life.. myself. Maybe its intentional, maybe not but when I found that out... a song i had been listening to and loving and escaping the perils of life from for several years... honestly for me it reaffirmed my faith and belief that God is everywhere at all times (and he really does love us) whether we like it, accept it, recognize or acknowledge it or not
Nearly exactly the same here, 17 and fully lost, until I found this and felt like I was listening to something that made sense to me in a way nothing had before?? Was a big moment in my late teens, pretty dark thinking back to it, but always felt like it helped.. soon as I hear the crackles it sends me back.. one of the most important music discoveries in my life!!
Amazing what music can do
One of the best albums ever made.
+ T R U E +
The*
Will Churchill literally created a scene
Untrue
can you explain whats so special about untrue because i cant understand it
The fact Burial went to the same school as Four Tet, Hot Chip, The xx and others is a different breed of students who are meant to be a success of their music diversity ❤
Was that Elliott school in Putney?
No other piece of music made me feel this way. Ever.
maybe big feelings by shlohmo, try it out.
Also russian artist Volor Flex (aka Trampique) is really great, check his works out!
@@Stepanthecrab that sounds suspiciously simular.
@@jmscp06so much of music by shlohmo gives me the same feeling as burial. I feel they’re almost totally different artists but give me that same melancholy
Burial for me is the perfect sonic embodiment of what I think a dystopian future would sound like. It makes me think of just walking through the slums of a city, where one half is low slung homes, shacks, and then just out in the distance with a stark contrast is the city with it's infinitely tall skyscrapers and flying cars.
I Live in chicago. Replace flying cars with helicopters and you got it.
This is perfect soundtrack to see the skyline in the near distance from south side slums.
So close, yet so far.
Also, footwork by dj rashad. I go back n forth.
The terrifying part is that this is effectively what we're living through. The best works of art are based on what the author knows, and Burial knew what a future dystopia is and feels like. He lives it every day, we all do.
We are that dystopian future. That's it. You're here. Get comfortable.
Still ahead of it's time
David Finkelstein I agree
David Finkelstein its, not it's
Still ahead of our time I would say
indeed - it sounds so fresh still 11 years later
It's beyond time...
I was a 16 year old living in south London when this album was released. Lonely, in the closet, depressed, anxious and confused. I used to listen to it on night buses home and I can’t believe I’ve never known all of this before or that quote at the end. It’s perfectly sad and hopeful, human, London in the late noughties, but exactly that - a distant sound that feels like it’s just for you. Thank you burial. Much love.
Amazing breakdown of a genius album.
a delight to see you here mane!
One of my favorite electronic plugs
Burial is walking home from a rave with a bunch of chemicals starting to leave your system as the sun slowly peaks through a cloudy, cloudy night
you just stole the main comment of this video and changed it a bit to go "unnoticed"
this is the best description ive ever seen
and thinking - almost the best ride of my life
Genius doesn't even come close to describing Untrue. Still a thousand years ahead of anything else.
Colatron
a thousand years ahead? Im sorry but the album is quite literally of its time, it is a product of our current post modern age. It is impressive but its nothing from the future.
Many diggers want to keep the hidden gems hidden. You must prove their philosophy wrong. If you dont understand this, then you haven't reached enough, no offense. It took me some time after hearing this to understand 'the grace of men'.
/////////////////// Its not ahead of its time, it’s TIMELESS
Kinda interesting to think; what from our time will still be listening to a 1000 years from now? Could take a hundred years for them to become more relevant. Richard D James would be my guess...
Ahead of anything else? Lmao, Selected Ambient Works Volume II says "Hi".
The sound fx/ designers of metal gear solid should be proud. They contributed to this masterpiece of a work
exactly
burial ran so fred again could do walk
Let's not forget that 'Endorphin' ,on the Untrue album, played at the very start of this video, also sampled another brilliant video game, Silent Hill 3, the original song being called 'Lost Carol'.
I've still not seen anyone sampling like Burial
the prodigy
dj shadow
GiSeong Shim no Balance of the force by Boymerang,black secret technology a guy called Gerald,goldie timeless
Luke Vibert is the king of samples
The Avalanches
This album delivers so magnificently on every level. The music communicates beyond being dubstep, garage, ambient music etc and penetrates deeply into the listener’s heart to communicate it’s sensibilities. This is beautiful music that demonstrates the phenomenon of context and art working through a person and not for a person.
k
That's what happens when you divorce yourself from genres. Aphex Twin did the same thing.
it's just sound good
I wonder what you´d think of the ´st` debut then ...
I felt the same way but this guys knows something about conveying emotion through music. Yes there are corny lines in there but that's far from what makes it special. His sound design is not from this world. 2 beats into a Burial song and you can tell it's his. The way his obscure sounds manage to reach so many people is something special. 3 years since I first said the words "this isn't anything special" he's one of my favourite artists.
What a rare genius this guy is. Britain really does produce some talent.
I also love other various UK electronica based acts like
Aphex Twin, FourTet, Unkle, Squarepusher, Autechre, Massive Attack, Forest Swords, Allflaws
Isn't Amon Tobin Brazilian?
make sure to include Autechre in there!
amon tobin is brazillian
Check my band if you have time
Autolux plus massive attack plus Pali gap by Hendrix
Just, Squarepusher. It's cleaner.
While I do think Untrue is a fantastic vignette of London, what I find most compelling is how it's also a universal album. There are orchestral elements, R&B vocals, syncopated rhythms, world instruments and modern synthesisers, all blended together to create this massive cross-cultural experience. It also manages to be perfectly nostalgic yet also completely futuristic. It's evocative but alien. It's uplifting, soul-crushing, heart-warming and ethereal. It's one of the most emotionally sophisticated albums of all time.
the world is a better place with this album in it
This album stood out so much and it still impacts because it was produced with pure emotion and humanity. He's obviously a great producer and would have been successful regardless, but I really think the limitations of his equipment, creating loops by ear and not by precise gridlocked tempo, delay effects that suddenly cut off (presumably as he copy pastes the next loop into position), the artefact laden pitch shifted vocals, sudden warping of measure and tempo, etc ec, are perhaps something he would not have consciously chosen had he not been using Soundforge and limited by it's particular traits.
These limitations I believe take the music from being well produced tunes to tracks that speak to our subconscious because of the human imperfections and variations within. And also stood him out from every DAW based producer working with strict tempo. Of course Burial's mastery of sound collage and atmosphere are fantastic but I would argue that a good 30% of why this album is so good and stands out as an individual artistic statement is that it is made in a completely alien way to 99% of all dance music currently being made.
Hopefully the man himself will speak on it one day.
I mostly agree with u. Imperfections are indeed what makes the difference between regular produced music and masterpieces. They connect to us unlike perfectly clean sounds do, because it feels more natural. BUT, apart from whether he made this imperfections in sound on purpose or because of his workflow, it takes a mastermind to create music that connects so hard to human emotions in a very basic environment like Soundforge. Give that 99% of dance music producers his tools and we would hear 98% of shite. Give Burial a professional DAW, and he'll probably still be using it in a way nobody ever thought of.. It's not the tools that make great music, it's the creative mind behind it.
Did soundforge even do multitracking back then. Insane! First time I heard this walking into a record shop was straight away up to the counter..eh whats that???
I mean at the end of the day he chose to do it in soundforge. clearly if he was signed to hyperdub he could have jumped on a daw but this worked. same process as any artist choosing one technique over another and it's just as masterful.
He made an eternal Album, sonic and musical perfection, they're less like songs and more like memories that everone can relate to.
Exactly
"less like songs and more like memories that everyone can relate to" - this perfectly captures it.
The greatest album to ever come out of the dubstep/garage/UK movement. After decades of club hits and underground rave tunes, this little album absolutely blows everything else out of the water. It's a testament to the power of careful sampling and arrangement. Untrue is proof that even the most objective engineering challenges like mixing ultimately just come down to human emotion.
this is amazing
Dub Rebellion in the house!
this brings so many memories. these worlds colliding...
Life defining masterpiece. It is hard to describe the feeling when you get lost while listening to Untrue. So ahead of its time.
Burial is music for the wandering souls out there... timeless music
There was a time in my life where I would only listen to this album at night on the late bus home because the sound reminded me of the warm glow of street lights on eerily quiet and desolate streets of Brooklyn at 3am during the week.
I remember a coworker introducing me to Untrue in 2008 and it's still one of the best albums I've ever put money on. Everything in this essay is spot on. The tone, the atmosphere, the visuals.
This is one of the rare albums that redefined my sense of beauty.
"What i want is that feeling, when you´re in the rain, or a storm...." Burial...The Guardian 26/10/2007.
burials music was everything to me at a point, im glad i grew out of that phase, but it will always be a part of me.
my fave tracks from him
1. U hurt me
2. Broken home
3. Shell of light
I know exactly what you're saying. But the bad part is, his music doesn't connect with me like it has in this absolute darkness. It know has another meaning to it. Its like a ghost from the past telling me "You don't need to go there, this chapter is closed for you." Which is kind of great in its own way.
Philipp Wallat So weird, it was the same for me too, for years I couldn’t listen to burial because it didn’t have that same affect, although i still appreciated his music massively. But now over the last year, it’s suddenly regained the same meaning and emotion it used to have. It’s just an insane album
So many autumn/winter train journeys listening to Burial
We need more episodes like this. This is really a master thesis of Burial. I laugh when people tend to say that electronic music is always the same and too simple, while in many times songs hide a story and a musical background.
His music breathes through you and if you listen with your eyes closed you can paint a nice landscape.. It fuels your imagination.. It takes you to places.. Absolutely unparralled imo.. He is the greatest dance electronic music producer
This is an interesting video which should have been longer and more in depth. However, the journalist is remiss in failing to mention two well known influences for Burial. Firstly the drums which inspired Burial most are I believe the drums on 1997's 2 Step /Groove Chronicles - Stone Cold th-cam.com/video/VVycT8k0tjM/w-d-xo.html. Burial said the drums on this track are so good that he didn't even want to try making drum beats himself because they wouldn't match this high standard. Secondly on the vocals Burial creates he has said he loved hearing a female neighbour sing to herself and the fact he could only hear her faintly through the walls in his flat gave him the idea for the far away or distorted vocals for his tracks. Burial said he wanted to ask to record his neighbour singing but he didn't know her well enough to ask and didn't want to invade her privacy.
Thanks for the additional insight ;)
Everyone should check out Ghost Records and EL-B
As I believe he put it, "those drums still sound like the future." (edit: correction; "those drums are still the future." subtle but significant)
Word.
Thanks for the shared info. I read another interview in which he expounded greatly on his desire to create moments more than music for music's sake. He went on quite a bit about things, like you mentioned, with his neighbor. Just passing moments walking by someone, or hearing or seeing something or someone on a bus ride, etc. And trying to recreate that in his works. I'm paraphrasing the gist of what he said.
Richard D James & Burial are all I need
Amin
@@Njesrah79 Amon Tobin you say?
Autechre
@@freindmaker4473Tim Hecker and Venetian Snares
reminds me of dj shadows introducing, it sounds so familiar but massively different because you've actually heard all the samples before, but never in the way it was presented. untrue was a terrific album.
*Endtroducing .. also another spectacular album.
Burial, is by far, the most inspiring and innovative music artist I've encountered in the last months, in every genre! Amazing~
The most brilliant album ever
Agreed...I can't recall how I stumbled upon it but I was hooked after one track.
My Modern Music History teacher showed us this album in a class. If you are reading this, thank you very much Javier, you inspired me a lot.
Nice, it's like modern era Mozart for us in the genre
That rocks
No album has ever quite connected with me like this has, thank you for this!
this album could be released today and it would still be a stone cold classic. just a masterpiece.
The story how I stumbled over Burial was quite odd. Actually I searched for a single sided record, to use the unprinted side for adjusting the anti-skate of my turntable. So I bought Nova from Burial + Four Tet without ever having heard of it. Out of curiosity I played side A and it immediately turned to one of my most favorite records! Burial is absolutely outstanding!
a classic
this album open the window to me for all electronic music. Sometimes i cry for all the beautiful sounds that burial put on here. He is just a genius and visionary individual guy.
2023 and i still think this is the greatest album of all times
"...ghosts, lost futures, and a fascination with life's liminal states..." That's what drew me to this album, which seems to have become part of my collection weeks after its release. It's interesting to see what went into it.
Burial changed the face of music. Legend!
this album needs to be stored in the library of congress
One of the very few albums that is entirely electronic that actually got me through hell in my life. It's a masterpiece because it is raw emotion.
Untrue brings back such strong memories from just riding the tram surrounded by people but being drawn into burials landscapes
True masterpiece… absolutely a heartbreakingly gorgeous and emotional album.
For me the most talented electronic music producer to ever exist to this day, legend
Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada would like a word.
my favourite album of all time
what if Burial is actually Hideo Kojima and all this was set up to promote MGS
lmao
This comment is too much :'D
Y E S
You know too much for your own good.
He played us like a damn fiddle
I’ve written my best writing listening to Burial. I can’t explain how his music didn’t detract from my own thoughts and awareness of what was going on around me, creating like a universal heart beat, or the sound of an ultrasound of an unborn baby’s heart beating like a hummingbird’s.
One of the greatest albums ever made in any genre.
This album makes me wish I were a superhero sitting on a skyscraper rooftop over the city at night while listening to it on repeat and observing the nightlife.
I’m obsessed with the drums.
I've been looking for that goddamn whisper vocal for years
I am the biggest MGS fan and didn 't knew about this. Nice art.
How he captured those dark, rainy London streets through sound and music i will never know. But we have it forever. Timeless.
amazing even on 2022, Burial is a musical pionner.... i said.
Burial is my favourite artist. Seldom does an artist evoke emotions like his music does.
Transmission from a star in a galaxy far far away
Hobbs
Absolute Masterpiece. I had it on repeat for about a month when I heard it.
it's the best record of the past 30 years. i'm glad i first heard it locked in a cupboard off my trolley on some russian speed.
i heard 4 burial albums that day, untrue was the best.
This is truly impressive as he's only released two full-length LPs ;) Maybe the speed just made it seem like 4!
The bits about who he sampled blew my mind. Been listening since it dropped and always thought he got someone to sing custom lines for him to play with...but it's been like usher and whatnot all this time. Really inspiring when someone takes sampling to its real potential and completely makes something with entirely new emotional quality from an existing piece of sound.
Soooo much love for burial and his music, it is so fascinating and unique, not only how it sounds but where the samples come from and how he made it, this album is timeless
aaaaaand I'm gonna listen to it again
Ten years! It brings me my 2007, fantastic! Can remember walking under rain, in details.
This is definitely some impressive content. Thank you RA -and Burial most of all- for this.
Best music based documentary ever. Got even goosebumps watching this. Amazing. Thanks! ☺♥
this has to date been one of the most powerful albums of my producing and djing career. i remember this was actually the first album i did ecstasy to .. it was there for motivation, there to get over heartbreak. watching this gets me emotional ..
With Untrue being an album that changed my life, this is such an introspective look at this album.
Bless this man.
This album still gives me goosebumps , every time… what an absolutely beautiful peace of art. 🙏
My God, I've been a fan of metal gear and burial for a long time, but never made some of the connections explained in this video. Just a beautiful video all around, great respect for burial and his work too.
The last quote in this video is exactly what his music is about. He's done a perfect job and achieved exactly what he wanted.
Burial: Makes an award winning future garage album in 2 weeks
Me: Only has one future garage draft that took me 3 months
Where do I start... the atmosphere, the sampling, pitch shifting vocals, the shuffling beats and the sum of all these things just put in songs impeccably sequenced to make a masterpiece. Even a decade after it's release and countless articles by critics and posts made on Reddit, people are still finding small details from the album and that is a testament to how Burial is amazing composer.
James Blake, Jamie xx, Frank Ocean and the whole post Dubstep, future garage scene and other countless artists are still being influenced by Burials style.
This is the music i play in my head while its raining
This album made me feel more than I’ve ever felt listening to music
ZK read on the internet: Adam Curtis calls Burial the greatest ROMANTIC composer of our time. ZK noted: Burial's tracks on the EPs after Untrue are structured in movements.
I cry every time i watch this video, so emotional.
Gives me goosebumps, just as it did when I first heard Burial, a very talented human being, unique & one of my all time ever artists
If you love Burial’s Untrue I highly suggest you listen to his rooftop mix. For my wife and I it is how we end every party night we have. We are in our 40s now but what a set to end the evening listening in a warm bath. I promise you will not be disappointed
Well, this video gave me goosebumps about 5 times.
Genius. Total and utter. The way he reflects the distant echoes of the barrage of sounds in our life, recontextualises it as this aching sound..... One day he'll be analysed by music students the same way Mozart is.
I love how succinct yet interesting this video is. I feel like in 2021 it would be 52min
I love this album so much. Been listening to it for almost a decade and a half and I just can't let it go. The album itself gave me nostalgia from the very beginning, but now I've got an added layer of nostalgia when I hear it because it's been almost 15 years!
I can’t believe this benevolent fellow donated all his profits to charity!! #untrue #legend
acually not a massive fan of the album (controversial I know but I just dont 'like' it) but I absolutely love the ethos behind what he does and how he achieves it...particularly his quote about that feeling of isolation in the rain, and his dedication to achieving a very particular 'feel' rather than ice cold, often sterile produciton values. . . love this
Still haven't heard anything like it. This Album was a game changer for me. Cant believe its been over 10 years
Man I wish i had never heard a track of him before so that I could experience the first time listening to this masterpiece again. Legend!
Still now I can hardly listen to Shell of Light, it's like staring at the sun.
I know exactly what you mean
well put. I rarely play it for myself....I cry because of my situation I was in and its too much but hard to not steal a listen here and there.
people have a lot of time on there hands to break down the music
just appreciate the work for what it is quality
This is just great: so informative and beautifully presented. Great background. And makes me love the music even more. Job done.