UK artist Tricky is feeling like a virgin again. Well, in a manner of speaking. Just the cusp of releasing his eighth studio album, 'Knowle West Boy,' due September 9, Tricky says that he's never been this excited to record, release and tour new music since his breakout solo disc, 1995's 'Maxinquaye.'

"This is the first album I've wanted to make for fans -- the first album I've wanted to do specifically for people who have been listening to me all these years," he tells Spinner. "I can't wait for people to hear it. I hope to touch their souls with it. I hope I live up to the five-year wait. Usually, I don't give a f--- about that stuff. A guy told me once he was in a coma and his parents played my music to him -- it was a kids' burn unit in Philadelphia -- and they played my music to the kids in there. Stuff like that makes you wanna give. I wanna give my fans more music, more albums, more touring."

Since the release of his last studio album, 'Vulnerable' in 2003, Tricky has been moving from the UK to New York and L.A., recording different tracks for 'Knowle West Boy,' which is a reference to his upbringing as a kid in a rough part of South Bristol. The singer, now 40, admits to being incredibly contemplative about his childhood and other major events in his life. One such notable period inspired the final song on the CD, the bluesy-country track 'School Gates.' The lyrics begin "I used to wait for her outside the school gates/she's 15 and pregnant I guess it's too late."

"That is a true story," Tricky explains. "I met a girl when I was 14. We were together every day. She got pregnant, said it was my kid and told her family it was someone else's. I was so in love with her and she told me if I told the truth, she wouldn't ever talk to me again. So basically, I thought 'keep your mouth shut, you might get her back.' I never got her back. When she was three, I saw [her kid] and she looks like my daughter, so I think it is definitely my kid. For the last 15 years, I've been wondering if it is my kid. But I know it she is in the deep of my heart. Now is the time I know I've got to find her. I'm prepared to do that. Before, it was a frightening proposition, but now I'm not scared about it. I am a bit of a coward emotionally, so now with the song, she is going to hear it. I can't wait to see her; I really can't wait to see her face."