Listen: Ben Khan – “Youth”

Enigmatic Londoner Ben Khan has released “Youth”, the first track from his much-anticipated debut EP 1992. It’s a relatively sedate take on the sound we’ve come to expect of him, and a subtle nod to his already fascinating artistic evolution.

On the basis of the intro you’d be forgiven for thinking that he’s had a stylistic identity crisis; his usual semi-macabre tone is replaced with a neo-soul coo over a synth track that could have been ripped straight from “Purple Rain” era-Prince (not a complaint, mind). But then the beat drops and we’re back on solid ground: funk riffs, echoing vocal runs and the usual chalky screech of guitar are all thrown at a canvas already dripping in handclaps, gunshot samples and alien whoops, creating a joyously restless texture.

Given the rapturous response his work thus far, it would be fair to worry that so much pressure can only end in another promising artist slain at the altar of his own hype. If anything though, “Youth” should satiate those doubters. It doesn’t have the uneasy, prowling sensuality of “Eden” or “Savage”, but that doesn’t make it any less thrilling. It may be a summer breeze in comparison, but that only helps sell it as a heady taste of things to come.

1992 is released on 5 May (on Khan’s Blessed Vice imprint), via Dirty Hit.