History Music / BenjaminClementine

Having been homeless for several years, he started playing cover music in the Paris subway, mostly to make money to survive. He reached a certain level of fame doing this - accordingly, there exist several videos of him from this time, filmed by passengers and passerby (like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzI6yMWMX9I this one]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A8u_QKZ4n0 this one]]). He eventually got picked up, got a record label deal and released two extended plays, ''Cornerstone'' and ''Glorious You'', and his full-length debut album, ''At Least For Now''. The latter won him the prestigious Mercury Music Award in the year 2015. He has since released a sophomore album, ''I Tell a Fly'', and appeared on the song ''Hallelujah Money'' on {{Music/Gorillaz}}' album {{Music/Humanz}}, both in 2017.

* NewSoundAlbum: ''I Tell A Fly'' is both DarkerAndEdgier and DenserAndWackier than ''At Least For Now''. It contains more band instrumentation and a prominent use of a harpischord along with the typical piano. "Ode From Joyce" sees him experiment with synthesizers. All of that said, "Jupiter" and "By the Ports of Europe" are both similar in sound to ''At Least For Now'', and arguably even lighter than most songs on there.
* NonAppearingTitle: "Farewell Sonata", "Phantom of Aloppoville", "Paris Cor Blimey", and "Ode From Joyce".

* RobotOrSpacemanAlterEgo: Ben in "Jupiter" is an alien from the eponymous planet visiting Earth, specifically America, for petrol - it's a spoof on how "alienated" Clementine felt touring in America.

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: [[WordOfGod Clementine has explained]] that on the cover for ''At Least For Now'', the blue room stands for Paris, while the red door stands for London.

** "Edmonton", the specific district in London he was raised in.

* ThisIsASong: In the middle of "The People And I":
-->"Excuse me, I’m in the middle of a song."

* TheXOfY: "Phantom of Aloppoville".

-->"I am alone in a box of stone / When all is said and done."

-->"I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry …"

-->"This Clemetine is on tea and croissants, this Clemetine is on tea and croissants, leave him alone …"

** "Jupiter", the place the Clementine's [[RobotOrSpacemanAlterEgo Spaceman Alter Ego]] in that song comes from.

-->"Ben is an alien with extra ability / Pushed time to next century"

* RobotOrSpacemanAlterEgo: Ben in "Jupiter" is an alien from the eponymous planet visiting Earth, specifically America, for petrol - it's a spoof on how "alienated" Clementine felt touring in America.

* MoodWhiplash: He’s fond of this, especially on ''I Tell a Fly'' – among others:
** "Farewell Sonata" starts with dark, ominous sounds, then continues as a sad piano piece, suddenly transforms into an energetic, erratic song and then returns to the piano melodies from the first third.
** "Phantom of Aleppoville" has three parts: A dark, aggressive first part, then an instrumental part, followed by a slow, melodic finale.

-->"Excuse me, I’m in the middle of a song."

--> Before I was born there was a storm
--> Before that storm there was fire
--> Burning everywhere
--> And everything became nothing again
--> And then out of nothing
--> Out of absolutely nothing I, Benjamin, I was born
--> So that when I become someone one day
--> I will always remember that I came from nothing

** "Paris Con Blimey" mentions rats repeatedly.
** "One Awkward Fish", with the fish also appearing in the album’s intro, "Farewell Sonata", as “fishes who can’t swim”.

Benjamin Clementine is a British musician, primarily known for his distinctive voice, piano playing and GenreMashup style that draws influences from pop, jazz and classical music alike.

Being homeless for several years, he started playing cover music in the Paris subway, mostly to make money to survive. He reached a certain level of fame doing this - accordingly, there exist several videos of him from this time, filmed by passengers and passerby ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A8u_QKZ4n0 like this one]]). He eventually got picked up, got a record label deal and released two extended plays, ''Cornerstone'' and ''Glorious You'', and his full-length debut album, ''At Least For Now''. The latter won him the prestigious Mercury Music Award in the year 2015. He has since released a sophomore album, ''I Tell a Fly'', and appeared on the song ''Hallelujah Money'' on {{Music/Gorillaz}}' album {{Music/Humanz}}, both in 2017.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The one minute long "St-Clemetine-On-Tea-And-Croissants", only consisting of two quirky vocal tracks and sparse percussion, with lyrics that are basically a WordSalad MadnessMantra, comes across as this in the middle of ''At Least For Now''.

* CreatorCouple: He is married to fellow musician Flo Morrissey and plans to release an album with her under the name ''The Clementines'' in 2020.