Presented by Barry Moore, The Qobuz Minute sweeps you away to the 4 corners of the musical universe to bring you an eclectic mix of today's brightest talents. Jazz, Electro, Classical, World music ... Benjamin Clementine
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Pianist, singer, and songwriter Benjamin Clementine did not grow up in a musical household. Strictly self-taught, he was inspired by a televised performance by Antony & the Johnsons and, around the same time, his first encounter with the music of Erik Satie. Prior to his 20th birthday, Clementine moved from his hometown of London, England to Paris, France, where he supported himself by busking. An agent discovered Clementine and put him in touch with his future manager. A performance at Cannes caught the attention of a businessman; together, they established the Behind label. Clementine made his recorded debut in 2013 with Cornerstone, a striking three-track EP of poetic, piano-and-voice ballads that prompted comparisons to Antony Hegarty and Nina Simone. An appearance on BBC Two's Later...with Jools Holland exposed him to a much larger audience.
A second EP, Glorious You -- on which he was accompanied by unobtrusive bass, drums, and strings -- was released in 2014. Signed to Barclay in France (and Virgin EMI in the U.K.), he released At Least for Now, his debut album, in 2015. He was subsequently awarded the Mercury Prize for his effort, which he dedicated to the victims of the Paris terror attacks that took place that year. In early 2017, Clementine was featured on "Hallelujah Money," the lead single from Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's art-pop project Gorillaz's fourth album, Humanz. That summer, Clementine released the dramatic "Phantom of Allepoville," the first single from his follow-up LP. His ambitious self-produced sophomore album, I Tell a Fly, arrived in September of that year.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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16
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HI-RES£10.49£17.49(40%)
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Alternative & Indie - Released January 12, 2014 | Universal Music Division Barclay
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After two delectable EPs, Benjamin Clementine has finally brought out his first album, At Least for Now. An impressive record. It is the strong, demanding work of a true voice, literally and figuratively. He is as charismatic a figure as those on whose shoulders he stands. It is hard not to think of Nina Simone, for example, when one hears the grain in Clementine's voice and his connection with the piano. But she is also there in his relationships to the musical styles which he mixes and matches with charm and ease. Jazz, soul, folk, blues and pop: At Least for Now makes no distinctions, eschewing labels because it is confident of its own vision... Even the instrumentation here alternates between the nakedness of a solo piano and the power of a violin section. A great aficionado of Maria Callas, but also of Léo Ferré and Jacques Brel, Clementine is also a fine raconteur. And so we will let ourselves be carried away by his storytelling. A star is well and truly born. © MD/Qobuz
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CD£12.49
Alternative & Indie - Released September 15, 2017 | Universal Music Division Barclay
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When he brought out At Least For Now, Benjamin Clementine made an entrance that was mad as hell and at the same time very much reserved. The vocals were deep. Well-trained. Almost warlike. The young Brit proved that he had, above all else, one hell of a voice. It was a voice worthy of Nina Simone, to whom he was quickly compared. A strong personality behind a tightly-controlled piano, who impressed and took one's breath away. This first album was a solid, demanding effort, especially in terms of the musical styles whose boundaries it confounded with a sweep of the hand. Jazz, soul, folk, blues, classical or pop, Benjamin Clementine doesn't discriminate, preferring to play a stateless kind of music, alternating between the nudity of a simple piano and the fulsomeness of a violin section. No less mercurial, I Tell a Fly is if anything even harder to define. More theatrical than before, this is a record that takes the world by storm - an album solidly on top of its game. In short, a work of its time interwoven with timeless instruments. On Jupiter, Clementine surfs on a relaxed pop, whereas on One Awkward Fish, he lets loose, mixing the sound of a harpsichord with funky, minimalist drums. That's just one of the many wide strides that mark out this album. Demanding, and above all stunning. © MD/Qobuz
CD£13.99
Alternative & Indie - Released April 8, 2016 | Universal Music Division Barclay
Although sparsely attended to with strings, percussion, and a few other ornamentations, Benjamin Clementine's debut album, At Least for Now, makes its case as a one-man show for piano and voice. The compelling British singer/songwriter is dramatic, self-assured, and theatrical in the extreme, boasting a powerful voice that swells to fill the room, which, on this unique record, seems to expand and shrink at the drop of a hat. A native of Edmonton in East London, Clementine left home at 16, eventually devoting himself to the lifestyle of an artistic vagabond, busking on the streets of Paris where he developed an unconventional style that blends together bits of soul, classical, opera, and street folk. A chance discovery by a French promoter led to bigger performances, a pair of acclaimed EPs, and a deal with Capitol. Opening his debut with "Winston Churchill's Boy," he boldly repurposes parts of the prime minister's famed WWII speech into an austere paean to his own journey of self-discovery. Like many of the songs on At Least for Now, it takes time to develop, but his magnetic delivery commands attention and his unusual songcraft is consistently interesting. "Adios," with its rapid-fire piano minimalism, seems to contain all of Clementine's vocal personalities as he soulfully opens up his lungs in the verses, only to half-bark the choruses before inserting a rambling spoken word rant about angels midway through. There's no shortage of standouts, with "London" and the skittering cabaret of "Nemesis" among the album's best moments. The stark, melodramatic "Cornerstone," a centerpiece of his first EP, makes another appearance here to great effect. At Least for Now is a pop record of sorts, but completely on his own terms, and like Antony Hegarty (an acknowledged influence) and Rufus Wainwright, two artists who have similar aspirations of pseudo-classical grandeur, Clementine will no doubt be polarizing for many listeners. There is no question, however, of his raw talent, poeticism, and knack for beguiling melodies, and in this oversaturated market, the true mavericks will always rise above the din.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo
HI-RES£2.99
CD£2.49
Alternative & Indie - Released January 11, 2016 | Universal Music Division Barclay
Hi-Res
CD£12.49
Alternative & Indie - Released September 15, 2017 | Universal Music Division Barclay
When he brought out At Least For Now, Benjamin Clementine made an entrance that was mad as hell and at the same time very much reserved. The vocals were deep. Well-trained. Almost warlike. The young Brit proved that he had, above all else, one hell of a voice. It was a voice worthy of Nina Simone, to whom he was quickly compared. A strong personality behind a tightly-controlled piano, who impressed and took one's breath away. This first album was a solid, demanding effort, especially in terms of the musical styles whose boundaries it confounded with a sweep of the hand. Jazz, soul, folk, blues, classical or pop, Benjamin Clementine doesn't discriminate, preferring to play a stateless kind of music, alternating between the nudity of a simple piano and the fulsomeness of a violin section. No less mercurial, I Tell a Fly is if anything even harder to define. More theatrical than before, this is a record that takes the world by storm - an album solidly on top of its game. In short, a work of its time interwoven with timeless instruments. On Jupiter, Clementine surfs on a relaxed pop, whereas on One Awkward Fish, he lets loose, mixing the sound of a harpsichord with funky, minimalist drums. That's just one of the many wide strides that mark out this album. Demanding, and above all stunning. © MD/Qobuz
HI-RES£2.49
CD£1.49
Alternative & Indie - Released November 2, 2018 | Universal Music Division Barclay
Hi-Res
CD£1.49
Alternative & Indie - Released January 1, 2014 | Universal Music Division Barclay
CD£3.49
Alternative & Indie - Released December 8, 2014 | Universal Music Division Barclay
CD£3.49
Alternative & Indie - Released January 1, 2014 | Universal Music Division Barclay
CD£1.49
Alternative & Indie - Released June 26, 2017 | Universal Music Division Barclay
CD£2.49
Alternative & Indie - Released January 11, 2016 | Universal Music Division Barclay
CD£1.49
Alternative & Indie - Released November 2, 2018 | Universal Music Division Barclay
CD£1.49
Alternative & Indie - Released August 23, 2017 | Universal Music Division Barclay
CD£1.49
Alternative & Indie - Released May 23, 2017 | Universal Music Division Barclay
CD£1.49
Alternative & Indie - Released September 8, 2017 | Universal Music Division Barclay
CD£8.99
Alternative & Indie - Released March 23, 2015 | Universal Music Division Barclay
Although sparsely attended to with strings, percussion, and a few other ornamentations, Benjamin Clementine's debut album, At Least for Now, makes its case as a one-man show for piano and voice. The compelling British singer/songwriter is dramatic, self-assured, and theatrical in the extreme, boasting a powerful voice that swells to fill the room, which, on this unique record, seems to expand and shrink at the drop of a hat. A native of Edmonton in East London, Clementine left home at 16, eventually devoting himself to the lifestyle of an artistic vagabond, busking on the streets of Paris where he developed an unconventional style that blends together bits of soul, classical, opera, and street folk. A chance discovery by a French promoter led to bigger performances, a pair of acclaimed EPs, and a deal with Capitol. Opening his debut with "Winston Churchill's Boy," he boldly repurposes parts of the prime minister's famed WWII speech into an austere paean to his own journey of self-discovery. Like many of the songs on At Least for Now, it takes time to develop, but his magnetic delivery commands attention and his unusual songcraft is consistently interesting. "Adios," with its rapid-fire piano minimalism, seems to contain all of Clementine's vocal personalities as he soulfully opens up his lungs in the verses, only to half-bark the choruses before inserting a rambling spoken word rant about angels midway through. There's no shortage of standouts, with "London" and the skittering cabaret of "Nemesis" among the album's best moments. The stark, melodramatic "Cornerstone," a centerpiece of his first EP, makes another appearance here to great effect. At Least for Now is a pop record of sorts, but completely on his own terms, and like Antony Hegarty (an acknowledged influence) and Rufus Wainwright, two artists who have similar aspirations of pseudo-classical grandeur, Clementine will no doubt be polarizing for many listeners. There is no question, however, of his raw talent, poeticism, and knack for beguiling melodies, and in this oversaturated market, the true mavericks will always rise above the din.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo
Artist
Benjamin Clementine in the magazine
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