After winning the Mercury prize with his 2015 debut At Least for Now, Benjamin Clementine chose the path of art, not commerce. His second outing, I Tell a Fly, was an anguished 2017 commentary on the refugee crisis framed by the conceit of two houseflies in love. For his third, Clementine – from London, but a veteran of Paris busking spots – finds himself on his own label, having seen out Covid in California, where he has a promising side-gig as an actor (The Herald of the Change in 2021’s Dune). His last release was as the Clementines, a duo with his partner, Flo Morrissey.
Written, played and produced exclusively by Clementine, And I Have Been is a more straightforwardly elegant listen than I Tell a Fly. Melodies abound, orchestral elements trade off with electronics, and Clementine’s still-startling voice, an elastic tenor capable of shock and awe as well as succour, is front and centre.
