The time has come again. That same webcam selfie stares at you from just about every music site on the internet. The hushed voice of BBC 6’s Mary Anne Hobbs introduces a new track, probably called “Loner” or “Undrgnd” or “Sad :(” or something. That familiar vinyl static hisses away in your earphones. Ah yes, new Burial music is here.

In the mid-2000s, Burial released two of the most revered electronic LPs of the century—a self-titled debut and its untouchable follow-up, Untrue—all while keeping his identity unknown to the public, who speculated that the producer might really be Aphex Twin, Fatboy Slim, or—hell, who knows—will.i.am. Since 2007, the South London man we now know to be William Bevan has dialed back on the music, with no new albums and no live shows. Instead he’s released singles and the odd EP about every two years; his latest offerings are “Claustro” and “State Forest,” which arrived earlier this month.

Along the way, something strange happened: The internet turned Burial, once so impenetrably emotional, into a source of comedy. Here’s how Bevan—or at least the sad-boy concept of him—became a meme.

The Puddle Years

Photo by Georgina Cook, courtesy of Hyperdub

Before Frank Ocean, before Jai Paul, there was Burial—the 21st century’s first musical enigma. Typical of the mystery that enshrouded him in those early days is this picture of a puddle, published as a press shot around the release of Untrue in 2007, for ages the only official photo “of” Burial. A few more images—some dubious, some convincing—eventually circulate, variously depicting the dank dubstepper in a hoodie, a beanie, and what could be a full head of hair (or just another beanie).

Burial Fans vs. the Tabloid Press

When Untrue was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2008, Gordon Smart from the British tabloid The Sun embarked on a mission to uncover the artist’s identity. It all got a bit silly, with Smart falling for several ploys set up by Burial fans, musing how “the name Luke keeps cropping up” and publishing a text message he’d received from a cantankerous fan (“Burial is not Jesus but was born of Mary…”). Anyway, quite humorously, Smart never got his man.

Burial at Boiler Room

There he is. Front right. Burial at Boiler Room in 2010, listening to James Blake, one of his most devoted acolytes. Nobody in the video acknowledges him—even when he rolls and sparks a joint—and it’s never been officially confirmed that it’s him. But come on, of course it is. See if you can spot a reaction from him when Blake drops Untrue track “Near Dark” at 5:33.

Burial and the Softbois