43 Comments
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Yuvraj Baweja's avatar

What a read tbh, shows how precious everything was/is for him. The culture, making it for himself and his brothers, the decision to stay anonymous, and his relation to the rain and dark nights. Shows the level of authenticity and alignment he has with his work. Almost as if his work tells us who Burial is. Thank you for this.

Will Staveley's avatar

Can't believe how humble he was, and surely still is, for a guy who has essentially moulded UK dance music beyond what anyone thought it was capable of.

Also had no idea Black Sun's name was because of that notso Smart fella - anywhere I can read about this?

Cheers for the great piece

Dan Hancox's avatar

Shit actually the story is even better than that, I forgot: Kode9 also ritualistically burned a copy of The Sun as "voodoo", as part of the process... from my interview with Steve in The Guardian in 2009 https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/oct/22/hyperdub-steve-goodman

'With Bevan clear that all he wanted was a quiet life, Gordon Smart, editor of the Sun's Bizarre gossip pages, started a campaign to unmask Burial last summer. That forced Bevan to reveal his identity – he was not, as Smart had suggested, Fatboy Slim working under an alias – and triggered a litany of revenge fantasies for Goodman. "I went through how each one of these scenarios would play out, and they all seemed to result in me imprisoned for the rest of my life – you know, 'Sun Journalist Kneecapped' – it's not a good look," he sighs. "So it was just me quietly, in the privacy of my own home, cathartically burning a copy of the Sun. That was as close to voodoo as I could get on a Wednesday afternoon."'

Will Staveley's avatar

Hah amazing, can almost hear the Spaceape chanting bloody murder into the flames as well....

Considered Sounds's avatar

The unmasking campaign makes me think of the similarities behind Jai Paul's record leak. Forcing someone into the spotlight when they don't want it/aren't ready is awful.

Alex's avatar

Music for introverts. Thankyou for sharing

Philip Teale's avatar

@JoRoan

JoRoan Lazaro's avatar

Brilliant. Thanks so much for the tip!

Stef Macbeth's avatar

What a joy returning to that interview. I read it while listening to the album (for the first time in ages..). I always associate Burial with Mark Fisher, for obvious reasons. But coming to his sonic universe again it feels so apt to this moment and all that has happened in the intervening years.

Luca's avatar

I did the exact same thing hahah

Jay's avatar

Thanks for sharing! 🙏

Titi tsss's avatar

A good friend always spoke about Burial, once he played on a listening session and I liked it but never knew this whole mystery of the dude. Must be so funny for his mates to finally find out they were gossiping about Burial while sitting next to him. Jokes!

THANK YOU, HAVE A NICE DAY's avatar

thank you for this essential piece of music journalism

Bryn's avatar

Thank you. Tea and Biscuits and Burial. Brought back the magic.

Joe Fattorini's avatar

I loved this. And just bought multitudes on the back of it.

Dan Hancox's avatar

Ah thanks so much Joe - really hope you enjoy!

Peelvrouw's avatar

The dude really shaped lives and made a melancholy mind feel understood. Thanks for sharing these insights.

Stephen Vitiello's avatar

Thank you for this

Vladimir Serykh's avatar

Thanks for that! Such a good reading, especially with the context you provided at the very beginning

Alin Purcaroiu's avatar

Another gem. Thanks man! His music is really a language of fragments, ghosts, and gestures that never arrive at certainty. Burial restores aura to the digital age!

Francesco Bernini's avatar

I'm so happy to be able to read this, thank you very much.