After much speculation, one of the capital's most elusive artists, previously known only by a single-word moniker and a distinctive body of work. has emerged from the murk to reveal his name and face. Banksy? Not him. We're talking about dubstep artist Burial, hotly-tipped for this year's Mercury prize and a man whose shuddering bass and industrial squawks have scored many a sojourn through nighttime London's bitter streets.
Having long shunned the limelight, Burial has now come clean, revealing on his Myspace page that his name is Will Bevan, and that he's a "lowkey" south Londoner who "just wants to make some tunes". A grainy photograph (above) of the man accompanies the post, in which he explains his decision to come forward thus:
Over the last year the unknown thing become an issue so im not into it any more... im keeping my head down and just going to finish my next album
And thus ends the mystery, which was already gaining some notoriety, not only through the Mercury prize nomination for album Untrue but also through a muck-raking Sun campaign which sought to unmask him. Rather than letting some hack claim the dubious glory, Burial wisely decided to bag the scoop for himself.
The Mercury winner will be revealed in September.
