Burial - Untrue (2007 Hyperdub First Pressing): The Anonymous Album That Changed Electronic Music

In 2007, a South London producer released his second album under the name Burial. Nobody knew who he was. Kode9, who ran the Hyperdub label, kept the identity secret at Burial's request. The music itself offered few clues: anonymous, nocturnal, suffused with a sadness that felt environmental rather than personal.

The album was called Untrue. It was not made for the dancefloor. It was made, apparently, for journeys home from nights out, for empty streets at 4am, for the specific melancholy of urban solitude. And it was one of the most critically acclaimed electronic albums in a generation.

The 2007 Hyperdub first pressing on vinyl is the document of that moment before Burial became famous, before the identity reveal (William Bevan, in 2008), before the endless retrospective appreciation. It is the album as it was heard by those who found it first.

Burial: The Artist and the Mystery

Burial, the project of William Bevan (born 1979), emerged from South London's post-rave culture. His self-titled debut on Hyperdub in 2006 established a style that critics struggled to categorize: it was not dubstep (the dominant South London electronic genre at the time), not house, not ambient. It used the rhythmic skeleton of UK garage and 2-step but stripped it of its joy, leaving something spectral.

For the two years after the debut, the identity remained secret. The Wire gave the debut Album of the Year. Kode9 accepted awards on Burial's behalf. The mystery became part of the music's mythology.

Untrue, released in November 2007, expanded the palette: pitched-down vocal samples of soul and R&B singers were chopped and processed until they became something between human and instrument, carrying emotional content without conventional lyrical communication.

The Sound of Untrue

Describing Untrue to someone who hasn't heard it is difficult. Key elements:

The sampled vocals: Burial samples recordings by artists including Aaliyah, Destiny's Child, Four Tet, and others, pitching them down, processing them through heavy reverb, and using fragments as melodic elements rather than complete phrases. The effect is of human voices heard at a distance, or in a dream.

The rhythm: The drum patterns are irregular, shuffled, with the kick and snare displaced from their expected positions. Vinyl crackle was recorded and added to the texture. The rhythm is there but it does not demand movement.

The atmosphere: Hyperdub's production style for this era used reverb and space as compositional elements. Untrue sounds like a large, empty interior space at night.

Track sequence: The album runs as an uninterrupted experience, with brief interludes between the main tracks. The sequencing creates a journey that begins with the opener "Untitled" and proceeds through a set of distinct emotional landscapes.

The First Pressing (2007)

The Hyperdub catalog number for Untrue is HDBLP002. The 2007 first pressing was a standard two-LP set on black vinyl, pressed at standard weights for the era.

Pressing details:

• Label: Hyperdub (HDBLP002)

• Format: 2LP, black vinyl

• Year: 2007

• Pressed: UK (initial pressing)

• Sleeve: Artwork by Steve Doogan, featuring the distinctive blurred cityscape imagery

First pressings can be identified by matrix/runout inscriptions in the dead wax, which differ between pressings. The specific matrix text for HDBLP002 first pressing has been documented by collectors on Discogs.

Condition Grades and Values

| Condition | Description | Market Range | |---|---| | Mint/Near Mint (M/NM) | Unplayed or essentially so; sleeve perfect | $80 - $200 | | Very Good Plus (VG+) | One or two plays maximum; minimal sleeve wear | $40 - $90 | | Very Good (VG) | Played carefully; minor surface marks; sleeve wear | $20 - $50 | | Good Plus (G+) | Regular play wear; some noticeable surface noise | $10 - $25 |

On Discogs: The first pressing trades regularly on Discogs. Median prices have been relatively stable in the $50-$100 range for VG+ examples. First pressing versus later pressing premiums exist among dedicated collectors.

Why the First Pressing Matters

Burial - Untrue has been reissued multiple times since 2007. Vinyl collectors prefer first pressings for several reasons:

Mastering: First pressings are cut from the original master tapes or digital files, before any remastering for subsequent pressings. Some collectors believe first pressings capture the original production intent most accurately.

Historical artifact: A 2007 pressing was made at a specific moment in Burial's history, when the anonymity was intact and the critical reception was still building. It is a document of that moment.

Collector culture: First pressing as a collecting category has intrinsic value independent of any sonic argument. The first pressing is simply what it is: the original.

Critical Legacy

Untrue was placed on Album of the Decade lists by The Wire, Pitchfork, and other publications covering electronic music. It influenced a generation of producers working in ambient, bass music, and various post-dubstep genres.

The influence is audible in countless records made in the decade after Untrue. The techniques Burial used, the sampled and pitch-shifted vocals, the irregular rhythms with vinyl crackle, the emotional register of urban melancholy, became a widely deployed toolkit.

For a first pressing collector, owning Untrue means owning the source rather than a reissue of something that has already become canonical.

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