I Tell A Fly

I Tell A Fly
Studio album by Benjamin Clementine
Released	15 September 2017
Recorded	2016-2017
Studio	Rak Studios, London
Genre	Avant-garde progressive rock experimental pop contemporary classical
Length	45:00
Label	Virgin EMI
Producer	Benjamin Clementine
Benjamin Clementine chronology
At Least for Now (2015) I Tell A Fly (2017)
Singles from I Tell A Fly
"Phantom of Aleppoville" Released: May 30, 2017 "God Save the Jungle" Released: June 26, 2017

I Tell A Fly is the forthcoming second album by English artist and poet Benjamin Clementine. It follows his Mercury Prize-winning debut album, At Least for Now.^[1] According to a press release, the album was written and produced by Clementine, recorded at RAK Studios. It is due to be released on 15 September 2017 in Europe and 2 October in the United States.^[2]

Background

After his collaboration with Gorillaz on "Hallelujah Money",^[3] Clementine unveiled his first new music since being awarded 2015's Mercury Music Prize for his debut album At Least for Now accompanied by a video shot by photographer Craig McDean and filmmaker Masha Vasyukova,^[4] In conversation with David Renshaw, Clementine explains the origin of I Tell A Fly lies in a disarmingly strange line found in his American visa: "an alien of extraordinary abilities." He explains, "I was baffled for about ten minutes when I first saw that visa. But then I thought to myself, I am an alien. I'm a wanderer. In most places I've been, I've always been different. And so I began to think about the story of a couple of birds, who are in love: one is afraid to go further, and the other is taking a risk, to see what happens." On I Tell A Fly, Clementine uses his personal history as a prism through which to view the world around him (and attempt to make sense of both), musically exploring unknown territories while maintaining a lifeblood that could not be mistaken for the work of anyone other than him.^[5]

Musical style and themes

Clementine composed the track "Phantom of Aleppoville" after being affected by the writing of pioneering British psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott.^[7] He wrote extensively about children who have experienced bullying in the home and at school, discovering that while the trauma was naturally not comparable in scale to that suffered by children displaced by war, its effects followed similar patterns. Seeing in Winicott's writing a mirror of his own childhood experiences, Clementine chose the title – the "little city of Aleppo" – to symbolise a place where children encounter such bullying. Says Clementine, "Aleppoville is a place where many are bullied if not all, but no one understands nor see why; Phantom."^[8] I Tell A Fly then preceded by the eccentric and sardonic song “God Save The Jungle,” which riffs on the U.K.'s national anthem. Written in New York City but recorded at RAK Studios in London, the album shows Clementine stretching the autobiographical lyrical style used on his debut to incorporate current events, touching on the refugee crisis and the war in Syria among other subjects. Talking to The Fader, a softly spoken Clementine explained how spending time in the U.S. during the 2016 election campaign pushed his songwriting in a political direction, and why this album was his most daring work to date. Clementine said that he wrote the album as a play after his visa from Europe to America, simply read, "An alien of extraordinary ability." I was writing about what's going on. It turned into what I was really trying to say, which was that I'm an alien. Not in the most superficial, arrogant fashion, but rather an alien who wanders around. It fits the current dilemma that we all face. It was mostly to do with the traveling. The feeling of not belonging to somewhere, just being a mere traveler, being an alien.

Track listing

All tracks written by Benjamin Clementine.

References