William Doyle (born 29 January 1991), formerly known by his stage name East… Read Full Bio ↴William Doyle (born 29 January 1991), formerly known by his stage name East India Youth, is an electronic musician originally from Bournemouth, England. His debut album, Total Strife Forever, was released by Stolen Recordings on 13 January 2014. It was nominated for the 2014 Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize Album of the Year award, as well as the Independent Album of the Year award at the 2014 AIM Independent Music Awards.

The name East India Youth derived from the East India Docks area in East London, where Doyle lived during the writing of Total Strife Forever, an album influenced by Tim Hecker, Brian Eno and Harold Budd. And the Youth part: "That's because this place was the start of something new for me; I was creatively reborn". The flat he shared was also colloquially known as the "youth hostel", owing to friends – and friends of friends – staying over on a regular basis. It's for this reason his first EP was titled Hostel. Doyle was previously lead singer of indie band Doyle and the Fourfathers.

On 27 January 2015, it was announced that Doyle had signed with XL Recordings and that his second album would be called Culture of Volume. The album was released on 6 April 2015; the name of the album comes from a fragment of verse from the poem "Monument" by Rick Holland.

On 19 February 2016, Doyle announced that he would be taking an indefinite hiatus from his East India Youth moniker. In a lengthy post published on his website, Doyle stated that it was time to take a break from the project and no more shows are planned for the foreseeable future.

Doyle continues to release music - now under his own name, including the 2016 ambient album The Dream Derealised. In early 2017 he supported Sohn on tour in the US and in UK/Europe. Doyle released a 2nd instrumental solo album Near Future Residence on 11 December 2018.

Continuum
William Doyle Lyrics

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Gazing over the unbuilt
From the air, a patchwork quilt

Evergreen and unending
Fenced off from our footsteps

Then pockets of impact
Crushing togethers of steel

Glass and flesh

Toggling between these two illusions
There is a grey area

We gotta move out
Outward, outward
Out into the continuum

Not the sprawl of the before
We gotta move out

Overall Meaning

In "Continuum" by William Doyle, the lyrics evoke a portrayal of urban landscapes and their impact on our lives. The first two lines suggest the perspective of looking down upon a city or an undeveloped area from above, comparing it to a patchwork quilt. This imagery highlights the fragmented and disconnected nature of urban environments. The lines "Evergreen and unending" and "Fenced off from our footsteps" contrast the permanence and unchanging nature of these urban areas with our limited access to them. It reflects the notion that while the city continues to grow and expand, we are often restricted from fully experiencing it.

The following lines shift the focus to the presence and consequences of human civilization within these urban environments. "Pockets of impact" refer to the localized areas where buildings, infrastructure, and people come together, often resulting in collisions or conflicts. The reference to "steel, glass, and flesh" represents the contrasting elements of the city: the cold, artificial materials of the built environment and the living beings inhabiting it.

The chorus, "Toggling between these two illusions, there is a grey area," suggests the dichotomy between the fantastical and artificial nature of the urban landscape and the more nuanced reality that lies in between. The grey area represents the complexities and contradictions that exist within these environments, hinting at the need for a deeper understanding and exploration.

The closing lines of the song emphasize the necessity to move beyond the confines of established urban sprawl. "We gotta move out, outward, outward, out into the continuum, not the sprawl of the before" encourages a sense of exploration and expansion, urging the listener to break free from the limitations of the current urban paradigm and venture into uncharted territories.

Overall, "Continuum" presents a contemplation on the impact of urban landscapes on our lives, the limitations they impose, and the call for transcending these boundaries and embracing new possibilities.

Line by Line Meaning

Gazing over the unbuilt
Looking out at untouched land, yet to be developed

From the air, a patchwork quilt
Seen from above, it resembles a patchwork quilt, with different sections of land

Evergreen and unending
Always green and seemingly infinite

Fenced off from our footsteps
Separated and protected from human interference

Then pockets of impact
Occasional areas of significant change or development

Crushing togethers of steel
Buildings made of strong materials tightly packed

Glass and flesh
Referring to the presence of windows and people in those buildings

Toggling between these two illusions
Moving back and forth, shifting perspective between the untouched land and developed areas

There is a grey area
Between the untouched land and developed areas, there exists a middle ground

We gotta move out
We have to leave our current comfort zone

Outward, outward
Moving away from the familiar