Benjamin Clementine - The boy who crossed the channel

interview by Cosimo Cirillo

To mark the release of his debut album, "At Least For Now", we had the chance to have a chat with Benjamin Clementine.

Who is this young man, almost completely unknown to Italians until a month ago? If you happened to see him on “Che Tempo Che Fa”, or if you read our review, you might already know a little: he was born in London, then moved to Paris, where plenty of people took notice of him (including Sir Paul McCartney), and the rest followed from there.

Listening to him, the impression you get is one of wisdom, despite his young age (26). Not long ago his audience was made up of commuters on the Paris Métro; now he's captivating Europe, but to hear him talk, what matters to him lies elsewhere. At times he seems almost unaware of his enormous gift, perhaps because he found it there on the street, almost by chance, when his brother brought a piano home. Or perhaps because, at first, he had to struggle to make himself understood. He found classroom doors locked, as you'll read, and had to flee his home country because “no one can be a prophet in their own land”.

When he walks into the room he's still cold. He sits down, asks for a tea – but no croissant, as he puts it – and we can begin.

When did you start playing? And how?

I started playing the piano when I was around ten years old. My brother bought it. I tried playing it, I liked the sounds. I was fascinated by it. I didn't really want to play. My brother did, though - he had a teacher, but then gave up after a few months.

What kind of piano was it?

It was a Yamaha upright piano. Anyway, my brother managed to get this piano and bring it home. He wanted to learn to play because he was very passionate about it at the time. But unfortunately for him, I ended up playing better than him (laughs, ed.).

I started out listening to some classical music, the simple kind, like Satie. Or new age too. They weren't rich or difficult pieces: always the same repeated patterns. So I'd just find the key and play. And one note led to another.

Did you play covers too?

Yes, “Imagine” by John Lennon for instance, to impress my brother. But I didn't like pop music, it was too simple. I liked classical more. But classical soon turned out to be too difficult. So I only played what I could listen to and reproduce.

Did you ever have a teacher?

No, never. But there was a teacher at school, a history teacher, who had a piano in his classroom. And every day after lessons I'd go and play it. Sometimes he was there, sometimes not. One day I was playing when the headmistress walked in and said: "Oh Benjamin, you play so well!" But the next day I found the classroom locked, so no, she hadn't been sincere! To her I was just making noise. So really, I never had a proper teacher: I think my teachers were the radio and classical music.

Your music seems very much tied to the piano. Is that the case, or are there tracks on the album that were actually written on other instruments? And do you picture yourself writing music not intended for piano in the future?

Some of the songs on the album actually weren't born on the piano. "Cornerstone", for instance. Believe it or not, it was written on guitar. And then one day I tried it on piano and felt it sounded better! At a certain point the piano started to feel like the instrument through which I could best express myself. So, since I felt it was my main instrument, why not do the whole album on piano? But in the future, I think I'll definitely bring guitar into my songs too.

Another wonderful instrument on your album is your voice. How did you develop your singing style?

That's life! I don't know. It's the experiences that make us who we are. We change and we evolve. My voice wasn't like this 5 years ago. To be honest, I don't actually sing. Some might say I sing, but if you think about it, it's simply about expressing myself with different sounds each time, which I can't repeat! I really can't. I could try, but they always come out different. So, it's my story, my feelings. That's how I shaped myself.

There's a line in "Winston Churchill's Boy" that says: "No one can be a prophet in their own land, so I left, here I am". Was there bitterness, or maybe even anger, in your decision to move from England to Paris? Did you feel you weren't fully understood?

I first heard that saying in France. You know, today I'm being interviewed, and I'm getting some recognition for my work, for my life. When I was in London, I was nobody! When I went to France, I was appreciated for who I was, so yes, you're right! Italy is learning to appreciate me too, but England is very slow. So it's true, in my experience, no one can be a prophet in their own land.

Listening to your album, it seems like the songs were born out of periods of solitude. How did you feel when you were writing them?

I've been alone almost my whole life. It came naturally when I was young. I didn't get along very well with my peers, I was very shy. My brothers were growing up and living their own lives. My only companions were books and music. Moving to France was a natural step for me. People would ask me: "But how could you leave your homeland?" But for me it was a natural solitude, and it was also positive. It really shaped me. Some people might go crazy, and I went a bit crazy at times too, but I used that madness to create.

Ride the wave of great music

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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Cosimo Cirillo, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

Read the original in Italian · About the English edition