Benjamin Clementine
Thursday 3rd December 2015
Sold Out
At St. George's Church
Doors 7:00 pm
Price £18.50 + b.f. / £20.50
After a spell-binding sold-out show earlier this year for Brighton Festival, Benjamin Clementine returns with his extraordinary voice and charismatic piano balladry.
When an unsigned 24-year-old Benjamin Clementine performed the title track from his debut EP Cornerstone on Later… with Jools Holland in late 2013, it became one of the most talked-about appearances by a new artist in recent years.
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. Born and raised in London, it was in Paris – homeless and busking on the Metro to earn a living – that Clementine refined his craft and built a cult following.
Since then, he has become the most-shared artist on Spotify, received “Best New Act” honours at Les Victoires de la Musique, the French equivalent of the Brit Awards, sold-out shows across Europe and the US, including Amsterdam, Berlin, New York and Paris, and opened for such artists as Cat Power, tUnE-yArDs and Woodkid. With support from the likes of Huw Stephens at Radio 1, Jo Whiley at Radio 2, Lauren Laverne at 6Music and XFM, Clementine toured the summer festival circuit this year including the Björk curated main-stage at this year’s Wilderness Festival, and David Byrne’s Meltdown Festival at The Southbank Centre.
His debut album At Least For Now released earlier this year, has been dubbed as the future sound of London, and he has packed a lot into his 26 years: heartbreak, homelessness, reinvention; he has an undeniable way with words, and a voice that reaches deep into your soul.
“Marries the intimacy of Antony Hegarty with the passion of Aretha Franklin and the intensity of Edith Piath, delivering his introspective lyrics about integrity and vulnerability with an almost operative soul sensibility that recalls Nina Simone” **** – The Independent
“Clementine’s debut album is by turns bold, brave, beautiful and at times quite brilliant. An exciting new talent” **** – The Observer