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— XL RECORDINGS (@XLRECORDINGS) January 1, 2024

Burial’s most recent release, Infirmary/Unknown Summer was in collaboration with Steve Goodman, also known as Kode9. The 2023 EP takes a more ambient approach, featuring spoken word sections, laid-back beats, and pitch-shifted vocals. In comparison, the new work teased by XL Recordings is aggressive, noisy, and raw. The clips feature distinctly different sounds from the ones produced with Kode9. This tonal shift may explain the change in label, a step away from the relaxed 2023 EP. Although the South London producer is currently signed to Hyperdub Records, owned by Kode9, Burial has worked with XL in the past. 

In 2020, Burial teamed up with XL, Kieran Hebden, better known as Four Tet, and Thom Yorke on two tracks titled ‘Her Revolution’ and ‘His Rope’. Since XL Recordings hosts a wide range of electronic producers, it is not out of the question that we may be getting another collaboration from Burial and another XL signed artist. Some of the major producers currently signed to XL Recordings are Overmono, a Welsh duo made up of Ed and Tom Russell, and Peggy Gou, a South Korean DJ and producer whose real name is Kim Min-ji. A potential collaboration between Overmono and Burial may seem more likely than some would think, with the glitchy aesthetic of both teaser videos matching that of the Overmono brand. 

We can speculate all day but all we currently know is that Burial is working on something new with XL Recordings. 

The EP’s accompanying text says: “‘Antidawn’ reduces Burial’s music to just the vapours. The record explores an interzone between dislocated, patchwork songwriting and eerie, open-world, game space ambience.

“In the resulting no man’s land, lyrics take precedence over song, lonely phrases colour the haze, a stark and fragmented structure makes time slow down. ‘Antidawn’ seems to tell a story of a wintertime city, and something beckoning you to follow it into the night.”

Maintaining cult status since his debut in 2006, his music existed in bleak eeriness and ambiance, offering a special take on UK club music in a manner that has been, often derisively, classed as “IDM”. The genre grouping is controversial as even the most prominent so-called “IDM” artists have made a mockery of the term, including electronic giant Aphex Twin.

The Hyperdub label has since become synonymous with Burial, both rarely existing outside each other. Released on the Hyperdub label, ANTIDAWN is a refreshing departure from the UK dance-oriented sound we have come to expect. It evades easy listening, even rarely keeping a beat, acting more as a soundscape that could easily function as an immersive video game soundtrack. Glints of Skyrim are heard on the first track, that boasts ten minutes in length, in a soundscape that would easily befit Gregorian Chanting.

Despite the fact that ANTIDAWN is an EP, containing five tracks, it nears the length of a studio album, reaching forty three minutes. Two tracks are over ten minutes, with the shortest track being six. An overwhelmingly peaceful aural experience that stands up to the expectations that Burial has set for himself, this EP flies by as it encapsulates your surroundings and becomes your own soundtrack.

This EP follows his most recent release “Chemz / Dolphins” which itself followed the massively popular collaboration with Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, Her Revolution / His Rope. The two-tracker hit the perfect middle ground between the two artists styles, with Thom Yorke himself going in the direction of ambient electronic in the last decade or so, with The King of Limbs and his solo effort Anima. One wonders whether Burial provided Thom Yorke with the necessary inspiration to create those works.

The EP runs for twenty-seven minutes and features two tracks each from both artists. Blackdown begins with a VIP remix of his track ‘This Journey’, followed by the first Burial track titled ‘Dark Gethsemane’, a track invoking a strong political message repeating words from the title of the joint project. Blackdown’s second track is a remix of a song originally by Heatmap titled ‘Arklight’, followed by the second affair from Burial titled ‘Space Cadet’. Burial is renowned for his extreme crate digging abilities, finding samples from the most niche communities of music, and his fans are just as eager to find the originals. With Space Cadet, one of the samples has already been discovered, that of a Finnish synthpop track ‘Ajetaan Tandemilla’ by Freeman from 1976.

This collaborative EP between Burial and Blackdown is available on all major streaming services along with a limited physical release run. Along with this release arrives the announcement of the highly anticipated two track EP from Burial ‘Chemz / Dolphinz’ featuring the already released track and an unreleased outing. After multiple push backs the EP is set to release on Bandcamp for the tentative date of 21^st May on Hyperdub. For now, stream the Shock Power Of Love EP below.