East India Youth – The Lexington, London 06/02/14

When a new artist’s music singlehandedly persuades a much admir’d music publication’s editor to create a label specifically for its release, you know there is something special going on. Southampton native William Doyle did just that with solo project East India Youth and, since releasing his debut EP Hostel on The Quietus Phonographic Corporation in 2012, resolutely has not looked back.

Now signed to Stolen and having his debut album Total Strife Forever in his back pocket (alongside a slew of critical acclaim), the new prince of laptop musicians tonight takes to the stage at a sold out Lexington. The 23 year old man himself is something of an enigma, combining intelligent electronics, sweeping soundscapes and slick pop sensibilities alongside a sharp suit and swathe of mop top hair. Quickly into the set, it’s clear he can effortlessly juggle the roles of producer, bassist and front man into an inspired, 21st century one man band.

His choice to keep things sparse on stage and not share responsibility for the sound with a backing band is a brave one, but something that only adds to this general feeling of intrigue. With so many juxtapositions between his cross genre sounds and other more superficial elements (like his Just William visage), there is a worry that it may not fit together like a jigsaw, but he just about manages to keep things together as hands scuttle between instruments.

He sure cuts a lonely figure on stage though, with just a blockade of keyboards, a laptop and various other bulky barriers for company. Yet it doesn’t restrict him like you’d think it would. From the opening bars of “Glitter Recession” he flails and jerks with every jolt of electronics as if his very muscles are hardwired to his beats.

Seamlessly switching into the vocal-laced “Dripping Down”, lofty James Blake influences are cut alongside something much edgier as a Chicago house nuance fades into soft reverberation. “Looking for Someone” again takes him into different territory as a bass guitar is produced from nowhere and caressed, giving a deeper, gutsier sound. Explosive drums machines bounce off his soft bitter chant of “You think I feel nothing, but you don’t know how wrong you are”, giving a tangible rawness.

Slowing the pace with “Heaven, How Long” is where the atmospheric quality to his work peeps through, subtle quirks gently raining in from every direction. His vocals in places even echo those of Imogen Heap, as distortion is applied liberally, but he again takes it somewhere different with a charged harmony kicking in at the half way point.

Playing out on a techno-heavy “Hinterland”, it’s clear to see that East India Youth is far from settling on one distinctive sound. His set is as eclectic as they come, and as things progress for Mr Doyle, thrillingly there’s no way of knowing what to expect. We can only be sure that he’s on the cusp of something great, whatever it is.