The first thing you notice is the voice. Haunting and sublimely other-worldly, it stops you in your tracks with the gentlest of touches, proving that sometimes the intoxicating simplicity of a single voice is all you need to make an impact. For Yorkshire-born BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH, that hypnotic, breathy voice is the reason for it all. It is the essence of his being, laid bare without regret for us to share. And at only 21, not just your average singer-songwriter.

Growing up on a diet of Rolling Stones and Nina Simone, Benjamin discovered Bob Dylan and Elliot Smith in his teens and never looked back. On July 4 his first full-length album, Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm, released to number 20 on the UK album charts...the world of British radio has since become his oyster. Inspired by the likes of Ryan Adams, Bruce Springsteen and Arcade Fire (his version of ‘Rebellion’ by Arcade Fire has since been downloaded over 50,000 times), Benjamin took his time creating a sound that is truly his, one that gives him the confidence to label himself simply, unpretentiously, as a singer-songwriter, untroubled by the confusingly negative connotations the term now seems associated with. “That’s what I am,” he shrugs. I write songs and I play guitar and I think it’s varied on the album and it will be in the future. The title singer-songwriter is appropriate." Unsurprisingly then, it made sense that Benjamin would release his material under his own full name. No gimmicks, no clever pseudonyms. “There was one journalist who spent the whole interview expecting me to be an army major with a monocle because of my name. Obviously, I’m not.”

By year's end, many, many more people will stumble upon a new singer-songwriter to believe in when they’re stopped in their tracks by Benjamin’s startlingly intimate voice - the unmistakeable sound of this year’s most intriguing new talent.