09 July 2016 (gig)
11 July 2016
The last time Benjamin Clementine played London, it was in a grade II listed church in Hackney.
Getting the right venue for the Mercury Prize-winning artist is key, it seems.
Spectacularly lit, the courtyard of Somerset House was the ideal location for Clementine’s moving compositions.
With strings attached in the shape of the Heritage Orchestra, the barefoot boy from Edmonton stepped up a gear, conducting his assembled ensemble.
There’s a risk that such additions can detract from the artist. But Clementine revels in the support of violins and his regular collaborators, cellist Barbara le Liepvre and deft drummer, Alexis Bossard.
There’s a tear in the eye of more than a few audience members. But Clementine is in a playful mood, poking fun at the venue, the audience and at Brexit, to which he has even penned a new song with “to leave, or not to leave” lyrics.
His impromptu vox-pop of audience members’ roots reveals a positively international London at complete odds with the current mood. It’s been a while since artists engaged in such political dialogue.
The stirring London and Condolence surely stopped the traffic outside at Aldwych roundabout, while Adios has the venue’s bar staff running out to watch.
Clementine ends the night with another new piece, completely instrumental and, as he says, inspired by his love of both rock and classical music as a child some 10 miles from here.
What next for the 27-year-old? Talk of a Bond theme seems obvious given tonight’s orchestral backing, yet more than likely.
