Burial’s haunting sounds are pretty much the unofficial soundtrack to the grey, grim, decaying state that is the UK, and – sorry to be pessimistic about the year ahead – it doesn’t look like they will be falling out of fashion any time soon. Luckily for us, the elusive south London musician looks set to drop new music, as hinted on New Year’s Day.

Yesterday (January 1), XL Recordings shared a glitchy glimpse of new music bearing the producer’s signature logo in videos on Instagram and X. Listen to both clips below.

Burial, who has typically released music with Kode9’s Hyperdub label, previously worked with XL Recordings on Her Revolution/Rope, a 2020 collaboration with Four Tet and Thom Yorke.

In 2022, Burial also surprise-dropped a new record, Streetlands, to follow up 2021’s Antidawn EP. His most recent full-length release, a collaboration with Kode9 titled Unknown Summer EP, arrived in 2023.

Needless to say, the New Year’s Day announcement is as cryptic as ever, offering only a snippet from a seemingly rave-oriented track. Many comments point out the significance of the Burial’s departure from Hyperdub for the new music, which is yet to receive a release date.