Wouldn't it be nice to have those paper sleeves filled with a vinyl release of tracks hand-picked by the man Burial. This was meant to come out in 2008, so I can't really see it coming any time soon, but who knows? I'm gonna speculate on a few of the tunes that might be on here, based on tracks that Burial has expressed a liking for in previous interviews.
Digital Mystikz - Misty Winter
Digital Mystikz - Misty Winter (Soul Jazz)
Another jungle/breaks track, this time from Foul Play, the trio consisting of John Morrow, Steve Bradshaw and the legend that would go onto be known as someone who had a massive hand in shaping dubstep, Steve Gurley. Another track that has a mix of the light and dark, some uplifting chords, but also, another sorrowful vocal sample.
This is a SERIOUS track, and usually gets passed by when discussing Digital Mystikz major back catalogue. It's probably my favourite track, that bass is almost overwhelming, and has some of the most impressive percussion I've heard in EDM. Burial made his love of this track clear in his 2006 interview with Blackdown, saying "Digital Mystikz and Loefah’s stuff is so good they make me want to stop making tunes. Some of those tunes are so good I can’t even listen to them, like “Misty Winter.” and later in the same interview saying that this would be the tune he would love to remix if he was given the chance. We can dream.
D'Cruze - Lonely
D'Cruze - Lonely (Suburban Base)
THE best jungle track ever, without a doubt, and it seems our man Burial agrees. The percussion on this track is insane, and those stabs at the beginning are amazing, kind of a mix of light and dark, highlighted by the mournful vocal sample. It'd be interesting to see if this was ever going to be on the tracklist, not sure it has that real Burial vibe to it, but a sick track nonetheless.
Foul Play - Being With You (Remix)
Foul Play - Being With You (Remix) (Shadow)
Another jungle/breaks track, this time from Foul Play, the trio consisting of John Morrow, Steve Bradshaw and the legend that would go onto be known as someone who had a massive hand in shaping dubstep, Steve Gurley. Another track that has a mix of the light and dark, some uplifting chords, but also, another sorrowful vocal sample.
Digital - Special Mission
Digital - Special Mission (Metalheadz)
I decided to bring the idea of a Burial DJ Kicks up after such a long time, because LA producer Flying Lotus recently stuck this gem up on his soundcloud. It was apparently intended for the compilation, and I'm not sure what to make of FlyLo making it public. Does this mean he think's it isn't going to come out? Anyway, his contribution is impressive.
Another slice of breaky nostalgia, this time from the seminal DnB label, Metalheadz. In his interview with Blackdown, he said "There was a tune on there by Digital called "Special Mission." I just thought ‘fuck - this is for me’ … but I’m not a musician, and I’m still not, in any way, but when I heard those tunes I realised you could make tunes without being ‘a musician.’"
El-B - El-Brand
El-B - El-Brand (White Label)
I'm just taking a stab here, but Burial's love for El-B is well known, and this would suit his love of rolling drums with the bubbling bassline underneath complimented by simple female RnB vocals over the top. If you're lucky enough to have this on vinyl, then I am massively jealous of you.
Burial - The Unreleased Stuff
I mean, come on, look at the amount of unreleased gems the guy has. People would cream their pants for the chance to hear a full version of these tracks.
Burial - True Love VIP (Dub)
I know for a lot of people, True Love VIP is their favourite Burial dub, and for some of those, their favourite Burial track full stop. Next up is the track that is possibly my favourite Burial dub.
Burial - Gaslight (Dub)
This next track was on a Kode 9 mix on Benji B's show, and is currently Untitled. This is a lot more vocal than his other unreleased stuff, and is definitely up there near the top of my "Tracks I Want To Be Released" list. So sick. Check it out.
Burial - Untitled (Dub)
I decided to bring the idea of a Burial DJ Kicks up after such a long time, because LA producer Flying Lotus recently stuck this gem up on his soundcloud. It was apparently intended for the compilation, and I'm not sure what to make of FlyLo making it public. Does this mean he think's it isn't going to come out? Anyway, his contribution is impressive.
Flying Lotus - Buried Mix 2 (Dub)
Perhaps one of the most exciting things about the potential selection by Burial, is this little snippet of info from the Burial page on the DJ Kicks website:
We hear whisperings from the studio that he may treat his dearest dubstep, techno and even r'n'b tracks with his unique production style before mixing them with exclusive material and... well watch this space!
So we're not necessarily talking remixes, but could you imagine Burial adding his own touches to Misty Winter or El-Brand. FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! That would make my year.
There's still hope this could come out. How long was the remix of Be True floating around for before it came out on Metalheadz? This all adds a certain special touch to Burial, but it's a frustrating touch indeed. After being listened to so many times already, perhaps it would be better to leave them be in the past, ghosts of what could've been. I say that now, but I still think so many people would be absolutely blissed to hold a 12" of Feral Witchchild/Stairwell or a new Lambeth/Gaslight/True Love VIP EP for example. Looking on youtube for most of the tracks above, I found that most people commenting on the videos for them have been lead there by Burial's words. If he can have that impact on some "forgotten" tracks just by an interview, imagine the tracks he could bring back into the public eye with a compilation on a well respected label. Hold out hope that this will come out. I'm not sure when, and perhaps in the heartbreaking words of Kode 9 "Who knows? Maybe never..."