Benjamin Clementine — At Least for Now [Deluxe Edition]

   ^{Benjamin Clementine — At Least for Now [Deluxe Edition]}•♦•   Tento nenápadný singer/songwriter poráží Aphex Twin a Florence + the Machine. The 24th annual Mercury Prize — awarded to the best album of the year from the U.K. and Ireland — was handed out. Self–taught singer, songwriter, and vocalist whose recordings and performances have prompted comparisons to Antony Hegarty and Nina Simone.Born: Benjamin Sainte–Clementine, 7 December 1988, Crystal Palace, London, England
Occupation: Poet, singer, pianist, composer, musician
Home town: Edmonton, London, Greater London, England
(Musical career):
Origin: Montmartre, Paris, France
Album release: Jul 31, 2015
Record Label: Behind Records / Barclay
Duration:     68:00
Tracks:
01. Winston Churchill’s Boy     5:38 
02. Then I Heard a Bachelor’s Cry     5:08 
03. London     4:01 
04. Adios     4:17 
05. St–Clementine–On–Tea–and–Croissant (Full Length Version)     2:33 
06. Nemesis     5:04 
07. The People and I     5:16 
08. Condolence     6:30 
09. Conerstone     4:31 
10. Quiver a Little     4:42 
11. Gone     4:32
12. Edmonton     4:53
13. Mathematics     3:08
14. Riverman (Live BBC Radio 2)     3:38
15. London (Live France Inter)     4:09
℗ 2014 Behind Under Exclusive Licence To Maison Barclay
•   All tracks written by Benjamin Clementine
Album Themes: Dreaming Healing/Comfort Heartache Passion Poetry Reflection Solitude    © British singer and songwriter Benjamin Clementine at Cannes Film Festival. Anne-Christine Poujoulat
Review
Andrew Unterberger // November 21, 2015
•   The 24th annual Mercury Prize — awarded to the best album of the year from the U.K. and Ireland — was handed out yesterday. Despite the list of nominees including such familiar veteran names as Aphex Twin, Florence + the Machine, and Jamie xx, the Prize winner was named as singer/songwriter Benjamin Clementine, who took home the trophy for his debut LP, At Least for Now. For those unfamiliar, Clementine is a London–born powerhouse vocalist and pianist, who has drawn admiration from the likes of Paul McCartney and Björk.
•   Clementine, who came to prominence while living in Paris, released a statement about his win:
•   “Thank you, to the fine people who chose me as the winner for the Album of the Year Mercury Prize award. This accolade belongs to all of those who were nominated and I would like to thank you for all the artists who were shortlisted. This award has personally come at a time where we could all be sad and mourn over the loss of those innocent people who died in Paris and the likes, but I would say that it should rather be a triumph. For these folks are some of the true heroes that will keep you and I going. We will continue to sing and make music with love and dignity for the grace of mankind and nobody can stop us. Peace, love the World xxxx.” •   http://www.spin.com/  © Benjamin Clementine singing with a guitar in a subway station of Paris c. 2010
ANDY BETA, Updated July 31, 201512:02 PM ET
♦  Encounter a staggering voice — be it in concert, on the subway platform or on American Idol — and the adage goes, “she could sing the phone book.” That’s not quite what London singer Benjamin Clementine does in the opening moments of his debut album, but he performs a similar feat. Twisting an oft–quote line from Prime Minister Winston Churchill: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,” he repurposes the famous 1940 WWII speech and wrings pathos out of it for the song “Winston Churchill’s Boy.”
♦  Singer and pianist Benjamin Clementine in a scene from his new video for the song “Nemesis.”
Rob Garratt, August 3, 2015;  Score: *****
♦  http://www.thenational.ae/arts-lifestyle/music-reviews/album-review-clementines-first-studio-album-is-loud-and-proud
ALL SONGS TV
First Watch: Benjamin Clementine, ‘Nemesis’
♦  It’s a high–stakes gamble to take mere seconds into your debut album, but Clementine is nothing if not audacious on At Least for Now, with his spinto tenor reaching operatic heights throughout.
♦  Paris–based singer and pianist Benjamin Clementine makes his U.S. debut with the new EP I Dream, I Smile, I Walk, I Cry.
MUSIC
Benjamin Clementine Trades ‘Sleeping On The Floor’ For ‘Sleeping In A Palace’
♦  Much like the musical choices he makes here, his biography has intrepid aspects throughout. A Ghanaian immigrant raised in the impoverished, crime–infested town of Edmonton, he took to poetry and piano and as a teenager, then left to busk and live on the streets of Paris. In singing covers and his own songs, he soon found his own songs increasingly verbose, dramatic and assured, moving beyond the confines of pop music. He gained some notoriety on the Paris music scene, played a few festivals, got love from the likes of Björk and Sir Paul McCartney, and, soon after an appearance on Later With Jools Holland, Clementine became the most shared artist on Spotify, leading to a major label deal.
♦  On his debut, Clementine’s voice and own piano accompaniment is restless and always moving, singing as if to break free from some unseen restraint. The lyrics often touch on searching and seeking, of leaving a place, perpetually moving. Or as he puts it on “Adios,” “I will be forever chasing it all ‘till the very end.” The song reflects such restlessness; It begins in musical theater, moves into double time with the melody hinting at the drama of the tango, before a violin line leads into a mumbled monologue from Clementine. From there, his piano returns and accentuates each line, his tenor soaring to the stratosphere before the full song returns.
♦  With the urgency, strength, passion, and fury in his voice, it’s no surprise that Clementine continues to garner comparison to the likes of Nina Simone. But with his penchant for the highly emotive and theatrical, Clementine also brings to mind the likes of Antony Hegarty and Rufus Wainwright. At Least For Now has the same amount of assurance, longing and grace as both gentlemen's own, now–classic debut albums. Who knows what bold leaps lie ahead for Clementine? ♦  http://www.npr.org/                                                          © Photo by Marc Piasecki
Credits:
♦  Akatre Design, Photography
♦  Marlon B. Engineer, Mixing, Producer
♦  Max Baillie Group Member
♦  Geoffroy “Djouf” Berlioz Engineer
♦  Alexis Bossard Drums
♦  Ian Burdge Cello, Group Member
♦  Chab Mastering
♦  Benjamin Clementine Composer, Drums, Percussion, Piano, Producer, Vocals
♦  Dave Daniels Group Member
♦  Caroline Dearnly Group Member
♦  Alison Dods Group Member
♦  ESP Strings
♦  Sylvain Favre–Bulle Violin
♦  Julien Gaben Violin
♦  Matthieu Gazier A&R, Executive Producer
♦  Ian Humphries Group Member
♦  Flavie Jaubert Label Manager
♦  Boguslaw Kostecki Group Member
♦  Oli Langford Group Member
♦  Chris Laurence Group Member
♦  Barbara Leliepvre Cello
♦  Martin Loveday Group Member
♦  Rita Manning Group Member
♦  Everton Nelson Group Member
♦  Jonathan Quarmby Bass, Engineer, Mixing, Producer
♦  Ian Rathbone Group Member
♦  Manu Sauvage Bass, Keyboards
♦  Sylvain Taillet A&R
♦  Christopher Tombling Group Member
♦  François Villevieille Violin
♦  Bozidar Vukotic Group Member
♦  Stacey Watton Group Member
♦  Bruce White Group Member
♦  Richard Woodcraft Engineer, Management
AllMusic Review by Timothy Monger;  Score: ****
•   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.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrbclementine 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benjaminclementine © Yann Rabannier
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Benjamin Clementine — At Least for Now [Deluxe Edition]

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