''And I Have Been'' is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by English composer, musician, and poet

Benjamin Clementine Benjamin Sainte-Clémentine (; born 7 December 1988) is a British composer, musician and actor. Born and raised in London, England, Clementine later moved to Paris, France, where he experienced homelessness for a time. After moving back to Lond ...

. It was released through his own label Preserve Artists on 28 October 2022. The album was entirely written, performed, produced, and mixed by Clementine. The album was promoted by the singles "Copening", "Weakend", "Genesis" and "Delighted".

Background and recording

Clementine's second studio album '' I Tell a Fly'' was released in July 2017 to critical acclaim, but its stylistic deviation was polarizing for listeners. In 2019, Clementine was conferred Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government. In 2021, Clementine made his acting debut in

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve (; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian filmmaker. He is a four-time recipient of the Canadian Screen Award (formerly Genie Award) for Best Direction, winning for '' Maelström'' in 2001, '' Polytechnique'' in 2009, ''Incendies ...

's epic science fiction film ''

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

''. ''And I Have Been'' was conceived during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

while Clementine was living up in the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...

and in the small town of

Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...

. In a press release Clementine said he was "confronted with a lot of lessons, complications and epiphanies to do with sharing his path with someone special" during the pandemic. The album was entirely written, performed, produced, and mixed by Clementine. It was written in the Santa Monica and Ojai and recorded in

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London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and Clementine's home studio in Ojai. The album is the first part in a forthcoming trilogy of albums Clementine finished writing in 2021. Clementine says that ''And I Have Been'' is just "setting the scene" as the "tip of the iceberg". Clementine has suggested that the project will mark the end of his music career, and that he plans to pursue other artistic endeavours such as acting.

Lyrics

Clementine explained in a statement that "Genesis" is about the "constant denial of isroots" which inevitably remain in the subconscious, and that he has always had a love-hate relationship with his roots.

Release

On 30 August 2022, Clementine announced ''And I Have Been'', his first new album in five years, calling the album "part one", with a second part set to arrive next year. Leading up to the release of the album, Clementine released four singles: "Copening", "Weakend", "Genesis" and "Delighted".

Critical reception

''And I Have Been'' has received critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a score of 79, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Arun Starkey of '' Far Out'' magazine described the album as Clementine's greatest, noting specifically the "unfettered genius" of the song "Last Movement of Hope" and metaphorically comparing it to

Edward Hopper Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realist painter and printmaker. While he is widely known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching. Hopper created subdued drama ...

's paintings and the work of Clementine's childhood hero,

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

. Alex Diggins reviewing in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' highlights the surprising spirit of domesticity in the album at times noting the song "Auxiliary" depicts Clementine accepting the complexities of fatherhood lightheartedly as he sings to his wife,

Flo Morrissey Florence Elizabeth J. Clementine (née Morrissey; born 25 December 1994), better known by her stage name Flo Morrissey, is an English singer-songwriter from Notting Hill, London. She has released two albums and three singles, and has toured inter ...

, about the harsh truths of parenthood. He also points out the relentlessness of the song "Lovelustreman" and the expansiveness of the album's closing track "Recommence". Comparing Clementine's previous work, notably ''I Tell a Fly'', Tanatat Khuttapan from '' Far Out'' identifies that, his new work stays away from experimentalism but embraced a rather explosive meticulous glide and within it are hidden cryptic like but meaningful occurrences that eventually unveils its head. He also discovers that in lieu of the performances- they are tamed and doesn't leave impression but his lyrics succeeds nonetheless. Ludovic Hunter-Tilley of the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' lamented that, despite the album's "arresting" opening lyrics on "Residue", the songs remain inferior to Clementine's previous work. He also decried the short lengths of some songs and deemed them "less expressive", concluding that Clementine has "underestimated his capabilities." ''

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''s

Kitty Empire Kitty Empire is the pen name of a British writer and music critic, currently writing for ''The Observer''. Early life Empire says that she was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britai ...

indicated that the album is more straightforward than previous work but painfully elegant. She also briefly touched on the song "Genesis", describing it as an ode to Clementine's complex heritage. Reviewing for ''

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'', Tom Doyle felt that the album retained the singer's quirks while offering a more accessible sound. Doyle concludes that, if Clementine retires from music, then ''And I Have Been'' finds him seeking outward justification.

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, guitars, keyboards, piano, synthesizers, prog drums, string arrangements *

– backing vocals * Axel Ekerman – bass * Martha Montenegro – Prog Drums * The Akan Symphony Orchestra Additional personnel * Duncan Fuller – engineering * Andy Hughes – engineering * John Webber – mastering at Air Studios * Bruno Bertoli – additional string arrangements on "Difference" and "Atonement" * Akatre – album artwork

References

{{Authority control 2022 albums Albums recorded at RAK Studios Benjamin Clementine albums