I didn't think it was worth a separate album/single thread so let's just keep it in here. Given the vast ocean that is music in 2015 there's little point in doing a summary. Why don't we just post our standout gig/moment/song/album instead?
I started listening to Radio 6 in late April, because the ads and tiresome repetitiveness of Absolute was getting on my tits. Keaveny first, then R&M, then Lauren Lavergne. Soon it was the only station I listened to. It was a momentous occasion. Having not listened to any new music really since the mid-00s and only listening to older stuff I'd absolutely lost faith in discovering any new music worth listening to. Little did I know it was a vibrant and buzzing scene, you just had to look in the right places. I heard some absolutely fantastic music, but it was elevated to a whole new level when I watched the Mercury Awards. 6 Music had been doing bits on the nominees but as I only listen in the car I missed some. I knew about Riosion Murphy, Slaves, Aphex Twin, Gaz Combes, C Duncan but I'd absolutely never heard of the man that basically changed everything for me: Benjamin Clementine.
There was a brief introductory piece on each artist nominated which I thought nothing of. There was a couple of MEH performances from Slaves and Eska and then Bennie stepped on stage. Instantly he caught my eye. His hair, his barefeet. His clothing. Hang on a minute, what's this all about? Then he played Cornerstone. Even with that piano introduction I was utterly mesmerised and hooked. I've never seen or heard anything like it. I can only imagine what those who were lucky enough to see him perform on Jools Holland got out of it. Bastards.
It was so open. So honest. So emotive. A journey right through his soul. I felt myself falling in to his life, his experiences, reliving them through this wonderful melody. Holy shit. Holy fucking shit I said to the wife. This changes everything. He must win. He needs to win. He did indeed win. I immediately purchased his album (At Least For Now) and read through each lyric to each song. It opened them up even more. It was like a diary, but a very clever one. A subtle one. It wasn't breathtakingly obvious and dull like Adele. Here was a man who had faced real hardship and found solace in the written word. Who'd abandoned the shackles of disaffected British youth and sought adventure in central Paris. A man who had once walked 10 hours to Rotterdam because he had no money for a train ticket and nobody would stop for him to hitchhike. He arrived with bleeding feet and still they didn't let him play.
I have never heard anything so beautiful and sincere and I urge you all to listen to it. He is only 27 and this is his first album. With the maturity he's managed to inject in to this I honestly cannot wait to hear what he has for us next. Wow.
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Originally Posted by John
