Burial is the moniker of William Bevan, a reclusive South Londoner who has … Read Full Bio ↴Burial is the moniker of William Bevan, a reclusive South Londoner who has become one of the most acclaimed, influential, and enigmatic electronic musicians of the early 21st century, thanks to his groundbreaking music as well as his reluctance to reveal any information about himself. Inspired by the anonymity of British club music, particularly garage, jungle, and hardcore, his tracks blend fractured breakbeats with mysterious, pitch-shifted voices and loads of vinyl crackle, rainfall, and submerged video game sound effects, creating gloomy, dystopian soundscapes evoking lonely nights spent wandering around an empty, desolate city. While his self-titled 2006 debut (one of the first notable dubstep full-lengths) received wide acclaim from the underground music press, the astonishing 2007 follow-up Untrue proved to be a major artistic breakthrough. Not only was it one of the most widely praised albums of the year, but its influence endured throughout the following decade, with countless producers emulating its vocal manipulations and dramatic, rain-soaked atmospherics. Collaborations with Four Tet, Thom Yorke, and Massive Attack followed, as well as several EPs which ranged from abstract, cinematic suites (2012's Kindred, 2013's Rival Dealer) to more club-friendly singles (2017's "Rodent"). While Burial continued to refrain from making public appearances or releasing a third album, he collaborated with Kode9 to mix Fabriclive100, the final volume of the long-running mix CD series, in 2018.

Burial debuted in March 2005 on the Hyperdub label with the South London Borough EP, which included the tracks "Southern Comfort" and "Broken Home." These two tracks would be among the highlights of the full-length album Burial (2006), whose release was accompanied by a second EP, Distant Lights (2006). Comprising bleak, evocative dubstep -- one track, "Night Bus," is entirely beatless, driven only by sampled rainfall and eerie synth melodies -- Burial was critically acclaimed, and most notably voted Album of the Year by The Wire; it was also voted among the best albums of the year by Mixmag. Burial's second album, Untrue (2007), was eagerly awaited as a result of all the acclaim; an EP, Ghost Hardware (2007), was released a few months in advance, drumming up further interest. Like its predecessor, Untrue was critically acclaimed, voted among the best albums of the year by XLR8R, for instance, and reviewed even more favorably than its predecessor.

In February 2008, British newspaper The Independent made a claim that William Bevan, indeed a native of South London, was the individual behind Burial. Bevan later confirmed the report, continued to record under his alias, and issued several collaborative works with the likes of former schoolmate Kieran Hebden (Four Tet), Thom Yorke, Massive Attack, and Jamie Woon. He issued three additional Hyperdub EPs -- Street Halo, Kindred, and Truant -- in 2011 and 2012. A Japanese CD release combined the first two. Bevan's 2013 was quiet until that December, when he released a three-track EP for Hyperdub titled Rival Dealer. A single-sided 12" titled Temple Sleeper surfaced on Keysound in 2015. The following year, Burial collaborated with Zomby on a track called "Sweetz," which appeared on Zomby's Ultra album and was also released as a single. Later in the year, Burial's Young Death/Nightmarket arrived on Hyperdub.

In April of 2017, Burial's remix of Goldie's jungle classic "Inner City Life" was released by Metalheadz. The following month, Burial's ambient Subtemple EP appeared on Hyperdub. He returned to beat-driven material in September with the garage-leaning single "Rodent," which was backed with a remix by Hyperdub boss Kode9, as well as "Pre Dawn," which appeared on Non Plus. In 2018, Burial and Kode9 mixed Fabriclive100, the conclusion of one of the two mix-CD series produced by London club Fabric. Single "Claustro"/"State Forest" appeared in 2019, and Burial ended the year with Tunes 2011-2019, a double-CD compiling most of his Hyperdub-issued output throughout the decade.

There are other artists with the same name:

2) Burial is a death metal band from The Netherlands. They released a downloadable album, Relinquished Souls at their website.

3) Burial is a hardcore punk band from Germany. They mix the sounds of early American hardcore with a definite dose of Japanese hardcore and Japanese burning spirits.

4) Burial is a brutal death metal band. They first got noticed with their self-produced debut CD, Mourning The Millenium. After appearing at several major US fests, Burial was signed to Lost Disciple Records and in 2000 released Enlightened With Pain, showcasing the band's pummeling brutality and technical proficiency. In 2001, Burial completed their first US tour, including Milwaukee Metalfest.

5) Burial is a blackened death metal band from Manchester, England.

6) Burial is a deathcore band from Québec City, Québec

7) Burial is a black ambient band from Poland.
8) Burial is a horrorcore artist from Michigan, Detroit.
9) Burial is a death doom metal band from Italy.

Southern Comfort
Burial Lyrics

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(Wordless vocalizing)

Overall Meaning

As the song begins, we are introduced to the haunting and melancholic sound of wordless vocalizing that sets a somber tone for the rest of the piece. It almost symbolizes a feeling of being lost, alone and detached from reality. Southern Comfort by Burial is a song that portrays the feeling of isolation and uncertainty that comes with living in a city, with a particular focus on London. The city can be both beautiful and cruel, alluring and repelling, and Burial's music speaks to this complexity.

Throughout the song, we hear the sound of distant traffic and the occasional siren, giving the impression of a city that is both alive and inanimate. The use of a lo-fi production style, with crackling vinyl sounds and distorted samples, adds to the sense of a world that is both decaying and vibrant. The central theme of Southern Comfort is the search for connection in a world that is fundamentally disconnected.

Contributed by Samantha Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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