WEST London singer Westerman headlines in Southampton on Thursday, a week before the release of his latest EP called Ark.

Championed by DJs Huw Stephens and Lauren Laverne, the solo artist is fresh from summer festivals like Latitude and Green Man. His atmospheric pop sound nods to leftfield forbearers like Nick Drake and David Byrne.

Talking about his latest record’s lead track, the singer says, “Albatross is set on a lake in my mind where I go to escape the worries of day to day existence.

“It's a more innocent and natural place, but there is a growing impingement on that place as time starts to feel like it moves faster, and more demands emerge. The song looks at that threat both to the physical environment and our own.”

With debut EP Call and Response under his belt and an album in the works, Westerman says he has been biding his time, waiting for an opportune moment to make his mark.

Now, ahead of this tour, which includes dates in America and Europe, as well as his biggest headline show so far at Oslo in Hackney, the next phase in his evolution appears to be taking shape.

“Ark is a symbol of solace and of transition,” he says. “I wanted this music to feel empowering as a challenge to my usual rhetoric and hopefully this set of tracks can provide that for the listener too.”

Westerman plays Heartbreakers, Hanover Buildings, Southampton, on Thursday October 11. Ark is released on 18 October.