Benjamin Clementine

Benjamin Clementine
Benjamin Clémentine
Clementine in 2022
Born
Benjamin Sainte-Clémentine

(1988-12-07) 7 December 1988 (age 35)
Occupations
  • Poet
  • artist
  • musician
  • record producer
Spouse
(m. 2018)
Children3
Musical career
Genres
Instrument
  • Multi-instrumentalist
Years active2008–present
Labels Preserve Artists
Websitebenjaminclementine.com

Benjamin Sainte-Clémentine (/sən ˈklɛməntn/ sən KLEM-ən-tyne; born 7 December 1988),[1] known as Benjamin Clementine, is a British composer, musician and actor.[2]

Born and raised in London, Clementine later moved to Paris, where he experienced homelessness for a time.[3] After moving back to London, he released his debut album At Least for Now, which won the 2015 Mercury Prize. In February 2019 he was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government, in recognition of his contribution to the arts.[4]

Critics have described him as becoming one of the great singer-songwriters of his generation, and the future sound of London, whilst struggling to place his music in any one genre.[5][6][7] Clementine's compositions are musically incisive and attuned to the issues of life but also poetic, mixing revolt with love and melancholy, sophisticated lyricism with slang and shouts, and rhyming verse with prose monologues. He often performs topless and barefoot onstage, dressed entirely in black or dark grey, with a long, wool trench coat.

  1. ^ "Benjamin Clementine". Facebook.com. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Benjamin Clementine: the future sound of London | Music | Going Out | London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  3. ^ Allen, Jeremy (31 March 2015). "Benjamin Clementine Was Homeless on the Streets of Paris, Now He Sells Out Its Biggest Venues | NOISEY". Noisey.vice.com. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  4. ^ Consulate of France in Los Angeles [@FranceinLA] (6 February 2019). "The talent of musician Benjamin Clementine, a brillant self-made artist, was recognized by France tonight. Consul @Ch_lemoine bestowed upon him the Arts and Letters Award at the Residence of France in Los Angeles. "Paris would be happy to have you back and the city misses you"" (Tweet). Beverly Hills. Retrieved 2 November 2020 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Himes, Geoffrey (18 July 2016). "London-born Benjamin Clementine could be the singer-songwriter of a generation". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Benjamin Clementine: the future sound of London". Standard.co.uk. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  7. ^ Doezema, Marie (26 January 2016). "Does He Have the Greatest Voice of the 21st Century?". Ozy.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2017.