Born to a Pakistani father, part of the eminent family of squash-playing Khans, and an English mother, her early childhood was spent travelling the world following her father who trained the Pakistani squash team, summers in Pakistan, and the rest of the...Born to a Pakistani father, part of the eminent family of squash-playing Khans, and an English mother, her early childhood was spent travelling the world following her father who trained the Pakistani squash team, summers in Pakistan, and the rest of the time in Hertfordshire[1][2]. She had a strict religious upbringing until her parents separated, when she was eleven years old.
Khan graduated in film and music; while at university her experimental work was influenced by artists such as Steve Reich and Susan Hiller, and she produced multi-media work centred on sound installations, animations and performance. She went on to work as a nursery-school teacher, and it was during this period that she began writing the material for her first album.
Her debut single, "The Wizard", was released digitally through DiS records and on seven inch through Khan's own imprint, She Bear Records. She then signed to the record label Echo, alongside Feeder and RóisÃn Murphy, and released her debut album, Fur and Gold, on 11 September 2006.
Bat for Lashes' music has been likened to the work of Björk, Cat Power, Tori Amos, and Kate Bush.
