#benjamin clementine
WATCH: Benjamin Clementine’s Soul-Stirring Visuals For ‘Condolence’
Benjamin Clementine — the Ghanaian/British crooner with a soul-stirring voice that sounds like it belongs to Nina Simone’s lost son — is out with the mesmerizing visuals for “Condolence,” the first track of his forthcoming Glorious You EP.The four-track EP will be Clementine’s first project since signing with Virgin EMI Records this past January. The road to major record label status has not been an easy one for the Edmonton native who left home at 17 and decided to head to Paris on a whim at the age of 20 without knowing anyone or having a place to stay. While in Paris, Clementine honed his craft singing on trains to anyone who would listen (watch him performing his take of Nina Simone’s “Ain’t Got No, I Got Life” on a Parisian metro) until he caught the attention of French electronica producers Lionel Bensemoun and Matthieu Gazier who released Clementine’s debut EP Cornerstone. During his 5-year stay in the city, the self-taught multi-instrumentalist gathered quite a following acquiring the title “la revelation anglaise des Fancos” (“the English revelation of the Francofolies Festival”), but returned to the UK in 2013 to make his TV debut on BBC2’s Later With Jools Holland. Check out the chilling performance of “Nemesis” that he gave on the show.
Riding high after a year of selling out shows and supporting such acts as Cat Power, Woodkid, and Tune-Yards, Clementine is prepping the release of his next project by giving us the first visual taste off his Glorious You EP. The Zack Spiger-directed video for “Condolence” follows Clementine as he journeys bare-foot through the dry, desolate planes of Ireland’s west coast. The singer’s past struggles and resilient spirit are captured in a black-and-white video that shows the deep-voiced crooner overcoming obstacle after obstacle that stands in the way of him and his destination. Clementine’s unapologetically raw, unrefined voice swells over a pacing piano and howling background vocals as he sings in poetic proses of sending his condolences to fear & insecurities in order to live his life freely and courageously.
Now as he sits
In the back of the grey caravan
Tomorrow he’ll probably be
Jumping Parisian metro barriers
With a bottle in his hands
Sparkling, sparkling water mixed with peaches and rum
“Honestly I don’t drink
But if I did this would be my favourite punch”
He said
Walk out the door with her
He could see everyone dressed in black
A class that seem too far, too fetched
She said look at you, look at you, the game is over
Your cup is full, your cup is full
Stop praying for more exposure
It is obvious that you are trying
Dubious, stop or you die here
You’re pretending but no one is buying
London, London, London is calling you
What are you waiting for?
What you searching for?
London, London, London is all in you
Why are you denying the truth?
“I might, I might, I might be boring you” he said
Although it’s not clear as the morning dew
Though my preferred ways are not happening
I won’t underestimate who I am capable of becoming
History will be made today
Is written boldly on his face
So clear you could hardly miss it
You could hardly miss it
For transcending the barriers
Of yesterday was and is the dream
On a road where Cleopatra comes and goes
Like fishes caught in ponds
Then thrown back for fun
She said, “Look at you, look at you, just pick a fleet”
Your cup is full, your cup is full
What have you not yet achieved?
It is obvious that you are trying
Dubious, stop or you die here
You’re pretending but no one is buying
London, London, London is calling you
What are you waiting for?
What you searching for?
London, London, London is all in you
Why are you denying the truth?
“I might, I might, I might be boring you” he said
Although it’s not clear as the morning dew
Though my preferred ways are not happening
I won’t underestimate
Who I am capable of becoming
We all know that colorism is rampant in the music industry, so I made a short list of talented dark-skinned singers who need more recognition.
NAO
LAURA MVULA
KELELA
KWABS
BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE
Please add more
MOKO
MICHAEL KIWANUKA
ABRA
MOSES SUMNEY
ASA
