Experience Benjamin Clementine

1. From the streets of Paris to the stages of the world. Before he won the Mercury Prize, Benjamin Clementine was busking on the Paris Metro. Today, he's performed everywhere from Montreux and Montréal to North Sea Jazz and released three acclaimed albums.
2. Do I know that face? As well as a blossoming music career, Benjamin is a television and film actor and has appeared in Dune and with a supporting role in The Gentlemen (season 2).
3. What’s his music like? If you like Radiohead, Nick Cave, David Byrne, Nina Simone, David Bowie, Rufus Wainwright … you might just want to meet Benjamin Clementine .
4. Poetic. Experimental. Unforgettable. Benjamin’s Back to Basics concert returns to the essence of his artistry: one piano, one voice and songs presented without distraction, allowing the music to take centre stage. These performances reveal the emotional intensity, spontaneity and musicianship that have become the hallmarks of his live work.
   

In 2015 Benjamin Clementine won the Mercury music prize for his debut album, At Least For Now, surpassing competition from the likes of Florence + the Machine, Wolf Alice, and Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes. Other Mercury prize winners include PJ Harvey, Pulp, Portishead, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Little Simz, Arlo Parks and more. Upon winning the prestigious prize, Clementine broke down in tears and dedicated it to the victims of the Paris terror attacks that year.

Only six years prior, he had been sleeping on the streets of Paris after walking away from education at age 16. He relied on busking on the Paris Metro to make a living. "At first, he sang unaccompanied, learning to project his voice down the corridors and carriages. Within six months, he had scraped enough cash together to move into a hostel. There, he taught himself guitar, piano and drums, slowly finding his calling as a musician." (BBC).

Benjamin Clementine's voice has been likened to that of the late, great Nina Simone. With a spinto tenor range, Clementine reaches both operatic heights and full-bodied lows in his music. His pianism rooted in classical training is often described as dexterous and dramatic.
"[My music] is me, speaking directly to you. I’ve learned in the little bit of my life so far that you can’t fool people. And so, I only tell people what I think about: my ambitions, my dreams, what inspires me.” – Benjamin Clementine to The Guardian.

His music videos are incredibly captivating, and his creative abilities extend beyond music. Hit song 'Nemesis' is the theme song for The Morning Show (Apple TV) starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Mark Duplass, and Steve Carell. His cinematic involvement also extends to film and TV acting appearances, with Benjamin Clementine featuring in Dune (2021) as The Herald of Change, Netflix's The Gentlemen (Season 2) as a former soldier called Nanny, In the Hand of Dante (2025) as Mephistopholes, and Blitz (2024) as Ife.

"Clementine exudes musical prodigy through every song he makes, and his eccentric personality only makes it easier for us to romanticize his artistry. He is an artist draped in mystery and enigma, but one that still proposes interesting and challenging work to his audience." - Slug Mag.

"There’s something about his style and grace, that stillness and elegance which has its most obvious sign in his deep, warm but just-distant speaking voice, that says here’s someone who cares about the small touches of interactions with others. A mark not of vanity but of decency." – Bernard Zuel, The Quiet Ascent of Benjamin Clementine.

Listen to him here and see him live exclusively at the Wellington Jazz Festival at The Opera House on Saturday 17 October. Tickets available here from $59.

Disclaimer: ARTicle includes a variety of content, including interviews, editorial commentary and links to external sources. The views expressed by interviewees, editors and external sources are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Tāwhiri, its team, or its partners.