His Mercury prize nomination has already forced him to reveal his identicalness and seen him move from outsider to favourite. Now the low-profile dubstep artist Burial has recorded a huge leap in album sales.
The so-called "Mercury effect" has become more pronounced in recent days as lesser-known artists let benefited from the boost in profile provided by a nomination for the prize.
Weekly sales of Burial's critically acclaimed second album, Untrue, have surged by 361%, according to figures compiled by the music retailer HMV for the Guardian.
Since he was nominative, his dismembered beats, foggy synths and snatched samples have turn an unlikely hit and an avalanche of bets has forced bookmakers to make him favourite for the award ahead of Radiohead and the Last Shadow Puppets.
In a rare Guardian interview sooner this year, the erstwhile anonymous artist explained wherefore he wanted to stay in the shadows: "I don't take press, I don't go on the internet practically, I'm just not into it. It's like the lost fine art of guardianship a secret, but it keeps my tunes closer to me and other people."
But since his Mercury nomination, push attention has forced him to bring out his identity in a posting on his MySpace page. "Over the terminal year the unknown thing become an issue so I'm non into it any more. I'm a low-key somebody and I just desire to make some tunes, nothing else," he wrote. "My name's Will Bevan, I'm from south London, I'm keeping my head down and just going to finishing my next album."
According to HMV, which compared gross revenue in the week in front nominations were announced with those in the first full calendar week of August, modern jazz group Portico Quartet give also benefited from the increased exposure and instore promotion that a nomination brings. The group, wHO were observed busking on the South Bank in London by jazz society and label Vertigo, saw sales of their album, Knee Deep in the North Sea, rise by 256%.
British Sea Power's Do You Like Rock Music, which has been described as the "sound of a unique band going for broke", has also benefited.
But another artist tipped to receive a sales boost from her nomination, 18-year-old singer-songwriter Laura Marling, has barely seen whatever increase in sales for her debut, Alas I Cannot Swim.
And artists who had already sold in magnanimous quantities earlier the nominations were announced, such as Radiohead and Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner's side-project the Last Shadow Puppets, too received less of a boost. "The Mercurys hold become an increasingly important showcase for new artists and esoteric music offerings, enabling them to connect with a much wider audience," said HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo.
"Historically, the lesser known and more leftfield acts tend to show the biggest pickups, partly as their album sales go from a relatively low base, only also due to the increased visibility among mainstream music buyers that the nominations generate."
The winner of the Nationwide Mercury prize, who could benefit from a further sales supercharge of up to 500%, will be announced on September 9.
Last year's loot was south Korean won by new-rave group the Klaxons for Myths of the Near Future.
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